


Big reputations (doesn’t mean they’re good though)

by Strawberry_flavoured_tears



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Ultimate Talents (Dangan Ronpa), Awkward Flirting, But they aren’t an organised group or anything, DICE Member Oma Kokichi, Eventual Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, It lasts like 2 chapters but it’s still there, Kokichi & Shuichi are a bomb ass detective duo tho, M/M, Murder Mystery, Mutual Pining, Oma Kokichi Is Bad at Feelings, Oma Kokichi Needs a Hug, Shuichi is famous btw, Shuichi tried to be more bold and fucked up, Slow Burn, This has some OCs because DICE, Tired Saihara Shuichi, also Kaede’s sister is here, and Tsumugi runs a blog about him, both fake and real, just some friends that get together and play pranks, like really famous, no beta we die like men, she’s Kaori, teen is just kinda my default, the rating might change, you know the drill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26088118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strawberry_flavoured_tears/pseuds/Strawberry_flavoured_tears
Summary: Kokichi couldn’t understand what everyone saw in the detective. Sure, Saihara was good-looking and smart, but he was probably just as boring as every other person (who wasn’t DICE, of course.)That is until Shuichi encounters some trouble during his most recent case, and- after finding out through a close friend- Kokichi (with the help of his fellow DICE members) proposes a deal that will not only allow Shuichi to continue with his investigation without being noticed, it will also keep the fangirls in check!
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Saihara Shuichi, Akamatsu Kaede/Iruma Miu, Amami Rantaro/K1-B0, Harukawa Maki & Momota Kaito & Saihara Shuichi, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Oma Kokichi & DICE, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Sonia Nevermind/Tanaka Gundham
Comments: 47
Kudos: 118





	1. You and me we got big reputations

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone and welcome to the new project I mentioned! I’ve been really hipped to start it so I hope you like it, I estimate that in chapter 3 they will meet but until then some sort of (future) foundation has to be built.  
> (Yes, that’s Taylor Swift lyrics, do you have a problem with it?)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t have any flipping clue about the system inside of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, however I did some (minimal) research on Interpol and applied it to the PSIA. I would be glad if you could overlook this minor thing and enjoy the story anyway.

_ Saihara Shuichi. _

That name seemed to pop up a lot recently. The young (twenty-three year old) “Prince Detective” which everyone adored. Miu mentioned how good looking he was, often buying the gossip magazines that talked about him. Tsumugi ran a whole ass blog about the guy, when she wasn’t posting on her otaku Tumblr that is, and Yua fangirled  _ hard  _ over him.

What was so interesting about Saihara?

That is the question that appeared on Ouma’s mind as he laid upside down on his bed, one of the many magazines the whore bought in his hand. In all honesty, the man was handsome that can’t be denied, thankfully Kokichi wasn’t a thirsty teenage girl and could actually keep it in his pants, so it’s not like he was drooling all over his pictures.

He was attractive, that was it.

Until Ouma started digging deeper (as he did when he was bored on a Friday afternoon and still had to wait a couple of hours till he met up with his friend) and discovered the various cases Saihara has solved. According to the internet-  _ thanks Wikipedia, you’re the best-  _ the detective started his career when he was fairly young, solving his first murder at fifteen.

Now,  _ this  _ seemed interesting.

After that he lay down low for some years, solving missing pets and infidelity cases, then at age seventeen the police force contacted him and asked for his help finding twelve missing people, apparently, they were the sisters of a friend of his-  _ who the hell has twelve siblings?! _ Reason why he accepted.

In a little over a month, this seventeen years old made more progress in the investigation (he found one of his siblings, which isn’t a lot taking into account that they are twelve, what still, it’s a good start) that a bunch of trained policemen- another reason why Kokichi didn’t like them. During the span of that year Saihara managed to find ten others, some in pairs and some alone scattered around the world. It took another month and a half to track down the last one since she was all the way in Central Europe-  _ who loses a sister in Central Europe when they live in Japan? What is going on with this family?! _

To say that Kokichi was impressed was an understatement, as Diamonds- real name Kazachi- called it, he had an obsession with the brilliance detective Saihara Shuichi and to that Ouma would reply that she didn’t have the right to an opinion in this case since she had the biggest Vocaloid phase you could probably imagine if he couldn’t call that an obsession then him staying up all night to make research about the detective wasn’t it either.

He glanced over the notes. Yes, Saihara was definitely interesting yet he was merely a celebrity, the type of people that exist to be idolised and never to be spoken to by one directly, limiting fans and curious people to read articles, interviews and gossip about whether or not he was dating the famous pianist that so many people have seen him around (Akamatsu Kaede was her name).

After he pulled that all-nighter he closed the notebook and never took the time of day for such a task again, at least not about this certain person. It was fun while it lasted but he had more pressing matters, such as which homophobic church should they vandalise- or re-decorate as they liked to call it- next, maybe raiding a candy store and stuffing their faces with popsicles would help Jack with the stress from their job. 

He turned the page and wrote it down. Jack- real name Michi- could certainly use a break from helping the government, Hearts- real name Yua- needed to stop worrying about her exams for a second and Ace- actual name Emiko- was feeling pretty down lately probably from the lack of her medication- Kokichi tried reminding her yet it always slipped her mind. Smiling he left his room, what a great leader he was! The boy was going to give them a reason to smile with him and they would have a great time like they always did.

That’s what a supreme leader does best after all, look after his people!

***

He groaned from frustration. It was there, so clearly too! Right under the government’s noses, he knew it yet if he couldn’t find the person responsible for this the PSIA would probably put him in jail instead. He could only pray that they didn’t find out before he was done.

People getting out of jail for good behaviour when they had up to ten-year sentences, then disappeared from the map and the police didn’t even question it. Kirigiri had put her job on the line to get him these files and he was going to waste her efforts for nothing, no, he had to make it all worth it in the end. Sleepless nights, countless calls from Kaede or Kaito asking him to hangout that he had to reject, numerous times said people came over to his apartment to check if he was still a living human being or just a robot.

What time was it anyway? He looked up at the clock on his office, one of the only rooms he truly used in the entire apartment,  _ 2:53.  _ Nice. He should really go to bed. Begrudgingly Shuichi stood up and dragged himself to the bedroom, taking the time to unbutton his shirt and slide it off his shoulders before collapsing- had his bed always felt so comfortable or is that the sleepiness talking?

Before he knew it, Shuichi fell unconscious. The dream was certainly weird yet he couldn’t quite remember it, he just had a feeling in his chest that those disfigured blobs of colour were..dangerous? Two of them made him uneasy, he just knew they were trouble. He opened his eyes slightly and picked the vibrating object of his bedside table-  _ who is texting me so early? _

Apparently, no one since it isn’t early at all, it was currently ten past twelve in the afternoon, pulling two all-nighters ended up making him sleep for ten hours straight but he wasn’t really complaining. Yes, he had lost valuable time he could’ve spent working yet he didn’t know when was the last time he felt so rested (ignoring the time, for now, he would probably regret it later though) Shuichi opened the messaging app.

**Beethoven:** Shuichi I’m coming over and I’m taking you to lunch at 1 pm

**Beethoven:** I won’t take no for an answer!

Well, he had to hurry if he wanted to have enough time to greet his best friend without looking like a zombie. He used this newly renewed energy to get up and forced himself to take a much-needed shower- when was the last time that he took some time off and focused on himself? Probably last week.

When he got out the detective looked at his phone again, he still had half an hour to kill before Kaede arrived and eating breakfast wasn’t on the table since she was going to take him out for lunch. Shuichi quietly hoped that not many people recognised them, gossip magazines loved talking about the supposed relationship that he and Kaede were in. He spared a glance at the hat he used to wear back in high school and wondered if it would help to hide from the fangirls.

Saihara shook his head, he made a promise to his friends, there’s no going back now (he’s actually pretty grateful, without them he wouldn’t have been able to let it go).

Saihara reached his desk and sat down, swiftly turning around in his chair to face the whiteboard where he had plastered all of the information he had on the sudden anomalies that plague the Public Security Intelligence Agency. He grabbed his mug and took a si-

It was empty. A single drop of ice-cold coffee touched his lips when he moved the mug. Letting out a frustrated sigh Shuichi stood up and made his way to the kitchen. His apartment wasn’t very big- the right size for him he thought when he saw it for the first time- it had a small hallway that connected his bedroom, which was at the end of said corridor, his office, at the left, one of the bathroom, at his right since the other was inside his bedroom and, finally, the living room and kitchen.

Kaede called it plain- you need more decorations! Some personal flair wouldn’t hurt from time to time you know? She said once- but he would rather refer to it as minimalistic. Small potted plants adorned the wall right next to his couch and several much bigger ones could be found in different corners of the flat. It was nothing special yet he felt comfortable with this...personal flair of his.

The kitchen, thankfully, had a clock in it so he could look at the time again. Maki had pointed out how anxious he could get when there was a specific time for his appointments, checking the time every ten minutes or maybe less just to know that he would make it in time, though it seemed irrational in this situation since Kaede was coming over to pick him up and wouldn’t be waiting in whatever place she deemed appropriate for lunch- maybe if he explained it to her he could get away with eating brunch and not cause her unnecessary worry.

He noted that there were twenty minutes left and started placing the coffee beans inside the machine. The smell of fresh coffee always helped him calm his anxiety in moments like this, a big case of major importance looming over every mundane action. When it was done he poured himself a cup of black coffee in his mug- Hamilton merch, he recalled when Maki bought it for him after catching him and Kaito blasting the soundtrack as they made their way to one of Kaede’s many concerts. He truly had the best group of friends he could ask for.

One look at the lonely plant in the corner reminded him of the importance of watering the other living organisms that shared the flat with him, Kaito called them his roommates once as a joke but it kind of stuck and he kept calling them that- however, he cannot bring himself to call some plants his roommates since it makes his loneliness more noticeable.

If he remembered correctly, the watering can should be on one of the bathrooms- yes, he had plants on his bathrooms too. With the drink in his hand, he started moving, reaching the first bathroom and opening the drawers and cupboards, however, his search was fruitless. The culprit was certainly hiding inside his bedroom’s bathroom, a grey coloured watering can rested inside one of the cupboards, behind the spare shampoo bottles and rolls of toilet paper.

Shuichi grabbed it and filled it with the water from the sink. Starting the new quest with the small plant inside the room where he already was, this one was a gift from his aunt when he first moved out of their house and started living on his own-  _ thinking back on it, I’m surprised it’s still alive-  _ it was a beautiful Peace Lily, with small delicate white flowers popping on top of the leaves.

After watering that plant (and fondly remembering his time with his aunt) he moved onto the other ones. Both of the Lemon Lime Dracaenas in his room, the Majesty Palm in his living room, the Peace Lily in his other bathroom and lastly the Golden Pothos in his kitchen. Satisfied, Shuichi left the watering can back in the room where he found it and checked the clock. Five minutes till Kaede arrived-  _ I got really carried away _ \- and he hadn’t done any progress on the case whatsoever.

Even if that was true, Saihara couldn’t help but feel more relaxed than he did last night. It was almost as if feeding the plants- could you call it that?- had also helped his mental state, maybe he should pay more attention to his botanic roommates.

A knock on the door brought him back to reality-  _ that must be her _ . And he was right. As he opened the door he was tackled into a hug from a cheerful blonde, he was startled at first but soon hugged back.

“Shuichi, how are you? You look a lot better than the last time I was over” Kaede commented as she broke the hug. He looked at her, the pianist was wearing a cream sweater with a light pink skirt. White leggings covered her legs and she wore laced up light brown boots, he noted that the laces were a darker shade of brown as well. Her hair was still at shoulder length, she didn’t grow it back since high school.

“I took a break, like you advised, and watered my plants. It’s actually pretty nice, how about you? Nervous about the concert?” Shuichi asked. Kaede had recently given him a free ticket to her latest recital, like she always did, and reminded him that it was only two weeks away so he had to make room in his busy schedule (the only thing in it was work, but such were the ways of a workaholic) to come and see her.

“A little” the detective stared, unimpressed “okay, okay. I’m very nervous, there’s going to be a princess at my concert and I’m scared to screw up in front of royalty. What if I make a fool of myself?” Kaede fidgeted in her place.

“Kaede, you’re going to be great, you always are. Come on, why don’t we talk it over lunch?” Shuichi asked as he started to leave the apartment, swiftly putting on the coat that hung by the door.

“Right! Totally forgot about it, oops” she said, following close behind after he had locked the door and started walking towards the elevator. Idly chatter filled the small space as the friends caught up on how their week was- it had been a week already? It felt as if her visit was only yesterday.

They got out of the apartment complex and had to walk about a block before they found Kaede’s car since the detective lived in a busy part of town, where different cars were regularly passing by and people talked loudly among themselves. Their form of transportation was nothing fancy really, Kaede bought it two years ago as a sort of present for herself after a very important performance.

Shuichi wasn’t surprised when he saw where she took him, he visited this place quite often actually but lately, he had been so focused on the case the man barely left the apartment. The café had an ambience that attracted him- if you asked him he wouldn’t be able to tell you why- the walls and shelves full of items from different trips the owner made fascinated Saihara, most of them paired up with an interesting story from Amami.

Amami Rantaro was the owner and long-time friend of Shuichi. They had met a couple of years prior when the man came to the police looking for help finding his sisters and got acquainted with Saihara, the force back then wasn’t efficient enough- and still wasn’t- to solve the case on their own. After it was done the men remained in contact and would casually text back and forth, slowly developing a friendship.

“Saihara-kun, it’s been a while. Caught up in another case I presume?” The green-haired man asked as soon they entered-  _ still as big brother-ly as ever _ . Despite that, he offered a smile and put aside the cloth he was using to wipe one of the tables.

“Yeah..” Shuichi rubbed the back of his neck, everyone was well aware of his problem- he wasn’t a workaholic, people just exaggerated though. “It’s a big one and I kinda lost track of time.”

“More like forgot the concept of time completely, I had to force you out of the apartment basically” Kaede added “Hi Amami-kun.”

“Good afternoon to you too Akamatsu-san. So what can I get you? You’ve never stayed for lunch before” Rantaro handed each of them a menu and then pulled out a small notepad, he had commented once on his bad memory during a conversation with Shuichi, probably why he forgot in what location each of his sisters was.

“I will have the chicken katsu ramen and some water, thanks” Kaede said, sitting down on a table in front of the window and taking a quick look at the food selection. Rantaro swiftly wrote it down and looked at Saihara expectantly.

He sat down across from Kaede and quickly read through it as well. “I’ll take the squid katsu curry and water as well, thank you Amami-kun” the owner wrote it down as well and smiled at them before walking away.

“So as I was saying, I’m really excited because Kaori is going to be at my concert!” The pianist continued with her rambling-  _ her sister is coming to visit? Wait, doesn’t she work for the PSIA? Maybe I can ask for her help.  _ “Shuichi? Hey, you’re kinda spacing out, what are you thinking about?”

The detective snapped out of his thoughts “Oh, sorry! I just remembered, your sister works for the Public Security Intelligence Agency, right?”

“Really Shuichi? I take you here so you stop working and that’s all you think about!” Kaede let out a frustrated groan “but yes, she does” the detective made a mental note to question Kaori when he got a chance “However, try not to be so straightforward, I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“I know Kaede, this is just too important. If we can’t trust our security system then what is stopping regular policemen from being corrupt, more than some of them already are that is” Shuichi replied. 

From a young age he had known about the problems inside the police force, it was the reason why his uncle had decided to be a private investigator instead of working alongside cops. When he started helping his uncle in the agency the man told him everything and Shuichi can’t stand it, he couldn’t back then either. If he really was the best detective in the entirety of Japan, as people liked to claim, then he should be able to crack this.

“Look Shuichi, I get it. Being aware that the people who are supposed to protect are doing sketchy stuff isn’t great, the opposite really, but that isn’t an excuse to neglect your own wellbeing you hear me? You can help make the PSIA better while not killing yourself in the process” Kaede has always been that way, so motherly and preoccupied over her friends' health that sometimes she even forgot her own. That’s where Shuichi comes in-  what a hypocrite he can be . Completely ignoring his needs and then doing one-eighty and telling Kaede to take care of hers.  _ Stop that, think positive thoughts! _

“I’m trying Kaede, I don’t want to think about it twenty-four-seven but you know that when I start working on a case like this it’s all I can focus on. Let’s talk about something else, maybe it’ll help me take my mind off of it” Shuichi proposed, trying to change the topic. He wasn’t trying to think about the case it just happened- that’s probably the result of spending over seven hours staring at the same files and information about it.

“Okay, well how about…if you finally found someone to bring with you to my concert?” Kaede wiggled her eyebrows as the detective blushed with embarrassment, ever since he came out to her the pianist won’t stop trying to get him a date and it could be pretty annoying sometimes.

“No, Kaede I haven’t and I’m not planning to” Kaede’s face fell due to her disappointment “There isn’t anyone I’m interested in right now, that’s all.”

“That’s because you don’t go out more! I mean, you only ever see Maki, Kaito and me on a regular basis! Sure, you sometimes meet up with Kirigiri-san because of work, but she’s gay and has a girlfriend so that’s a no. How about Amami-kun? What do you think?” Instances like this were annoying, the pianist just couldn’t stop talking about it-  _ maybe changing topics wasn’t a good idea, I would rather talk about my workaholism. _

“Sorry, Akamatsu-san but I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate it if I went on a date with Saihara-kun.” Rantaro interrupted as he placed the food I’m in front of them. The curry smelled amazing-  _ how is he so good at this?-  _ Shuichi couldn’t even make a toast without burning his flat down.

“Oh, Amami-kun, I didn’t know, I’m so sorry!” Kaede was quick to apologise. The detective, on the other hand, was already aware of Amami’s relationship since his boyfriend- his name was Idabashi Keebo and he worked as a robotics engineer- would sometimes come to the café and talk to Rantaro in his free time. They had interacted a couple of times and Idabashi seemed like a really nice person, even if he appeared slightly...robotic-like at times.

“It’s fine, don’t worry Akamatsu-san. I hope you enjoy the food” Amami said, before he left to take the order from a customer that had just entered, the only thing Shuichi caught was a glimpse of bouncing purple hair.

“Well that didn’t work out, maybe it’s time you sign up to a dating website, what do you say Shuichi?” Kaede joked. They laughed softly, both well aware that Saihara would rather be shot with a poisonous arrow in the back and right arm than interacting with a bunch of strangers in a dating app (in the end, he knew that even if he tried it would be filled with thirsty fans and that’s the last thing he would ever want).

“How about we tell everyone that we are actually dating? That way people wouldn’t leave creepy messages asking me to be their sugar daddy” He joked back. Unfortunately, it was true, some people had left that sort of message before but he would rather not think about it. The duo had discussed what it would be like to tell the press that they were dating, however, that was quickly shot down when Kaede told Shuichi about this girl she was trying to ask out- he wondered what happened with that in the end.

“Hey, Kaede?” The pianist hummed in acknowledging as her mouth was occupied with food “did you ask out that girl, Iruma was it?” He asked. The girl lit up like a Christmas tree and started talking about Iruma Miu, the inventor she was interested in, mentioning how they had hung out a couple of times and she gave her tickets to her performance.

***

The friends parted ways at four pm after they both finished the delicious lunch and paid Amami accordingly. Kaede drove him back and promised to visit next week whenever she was free, mentioning that she would bring Kaori with her as well. Shuichi agreed to it but said that he would rather go to her apartment to change the air a bit, also that way she could continue practising and hang out with him at the same time- I love hearing you play Kaede, it’s really relaxing, he had told her.

Now he was alone again (except for his plants anyway). He sighed and headed to the kitchen deciding to make himself a warm cup of coffee before starting work for the day. When he arrived at the kitchen, though, he saw the coffee machine still had the beverage he made this morning, it was cold , of course, but it was there. Shuichi threw the totally-not-drinkable coffee and added the beans for the second time that day, watching patiently as the machine did its magic.

Once it was done he poured it into his mug and went to the office. The chair expectantly waited in front of the whiteboard, were all his questions and evidence laid. He let himself fall on the chair and opened his laptop-  _ maybe Kirigiri-san has some sort of update on the topic. _

Shuichi clicked on his mail and stared at the newest one. It was from..the Public Security Intelligence Agency?-  _ Why are they contacting me?-  _ with trembling hands he tapped on it and read through the message.

_ From: Internal departments of the Public Security Intelligence Agency _

_ To: _ _ Saihara Shuichi _

_ Subject: Illegal investigation on the Public Security Intelligence Agency  _

_ Detective Saihara Shuichi, _

_ It has come to our attention that you have initiated an investigation on the Public Security Intelligence Agency without our approval or knowledge on the topic. Furthermore, you have requested Kirigiri Kyoko, a former colleague of yours, to acquire a series of documents on several ex-inmates, which she did illegally. We are well aware that you still have those documents on your possession. Tomorrow morning an acquaintance of yours, Akamatsu Kaori, will visit you with the purpose of recovering said documents. In the case that you do not comply and cease this illegal investigation, we will have no choice but to issue an alert about you to our headquarters (the public won’t be aware of the matter, however, as we believe this should be something we can work out within closed doors). _

_ Thank you for your cooperation, _

_ Internal departments of the Public Security Intelligence Agency. _

What?!


	2. I got some big enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While trying to resolve his problems with the PSIA Shuichi meets Kaede’s sister after months of not seeing her and everything seems fine once again.  
> Also Kaede has some strange neighbours...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After my mini break I’m back with another chapter!  
> This one is a bit longer than the last one (like 5k words or something) so I hope you enjoy, we are extremely close to the finally meeting so just hung in there!  
> (Please suggest names for Shuichi’s plants...it’s for research I swear.)

_What? What is this?!_

Saihara sat behind his desk, staring at the email and childishly wishing that a message would suddenly appear saying “that was just a joke! Keep up the good work detective”, or something along those lines. Anything that would disprove the horrific fact that the PSIA considered him a criminal (not exactly, but he’s mind was swimming in so many directions right now that this was the only concrete thought he could hold onto.)

They would give him a notice, then have him arrested and with that, his life would end. The only thing he had to do in order to stop it was to give Kaori the damn papers, every single one, and with it give up the case he had been so invested in for the past week. The thing he had poured countless hours, effort and more than one drop of coffee on- _this is fine._

Unfortunately, the email did not change, neither did another one pop up informing him that the first one was a joke, a simple prank (deep down he had accepted this truth way before the wishful thoughts could even take over). He grabbed his phone to tell Kaede, but stopped- why should he call her? What could he possibly do about this situation? The same outcome would appear regardless of the time he told her, so he decided to do it tomorrow- _what if they arrest me after I give them the papers? No, that doesn’t make sense, calm down Shuichi. Breath in for four, hold it in for three and exhale for four._

With his breaths at a somewhat normal rate, Shuichi placed the phone back on the table and turned to the whiteboard, it was all for nothing in the end- it’s not like he had an active lead right now or anything, but there were some things he wanted to check, maybe one would appear between all the useless and controversial articles (wishful thinking yet again.)

In the end, he gave up. Saihara stood up, closed his computer and headed to the bedroom in the midst of his panic- _maybe a shower will help._ He did as planned, standing under the warm water always helped clear his thoughts and sort out exactly what was happening (he had a terrible tendency to forget what was causing his anxious state, focusing only on the fact that his life was probably going to end.)

He began by organising the events that lead up to this inside his head- it, unfortunately, wasn’t like the mind palace in Sherlock, if he had to describe it he would say that it felt like driving a pink taxi through a highway and picking up people, which represented a possible answer to his question, on the way (completely leaving out which type of people.)

1- Kirigiri asked to talk with him about the strange disappearance of several inmates just a few days after they were released, noting how weird it was that some were let out after serving only a few months of their years-long sentences. 

2- When they met up, Kirigiri told him that she was suspicious that this was the result of a corrupt person inside the PSIA as her workers didn’t seem to know anything either (he kept in mind that this woman was basically a walking lying detector) yet she was relying on her detective hunch rather than solid evidence and offered to try and look into it, saying that in the instance she found anything the woman would give it to Saihara- he considered it an unofficially assigned case from Kirigiri despite them not working together anymore.

3- Days later, the woman handed him the files of the three missing inmates, stating that no one saw her, nevertheless Saihara had to be extremely careful with the information as it could lead to trouble for both of them. 

4- Shuichi took the files home and they stayed in his office since that day.

5- Somehow the PSIA found this out- _who could have told them? It definitely wasn’t Kirigiri because this would prejudice her as well-_ and sent him an email stating that if he didn’t give the documents back then he would get a notice and most certainly lose his job, maybe he would even end up in prison according to the type of notice.

With his mind properly arranged once again and his breath fully back to normal, Shuichi contemplated what to do- _It’s not like I have a lot of options, really_. In the end, the best possible solution was to hand over the files and call it a day, maybe even scan his email looking for another missing person case to keep his mind off of his recent failure. So, he chose to send a message to Kaori, informing her that the documents would be on her hands by tomorrow- if he remembered correctly, Kaede said she was going to visit her soon.

The towel was around his shoulders as he opened the messaging app and looked for Kaori- he hadn’t talked to her in quite a while, a couple of months at least.

**Saihara Shuichi:** Good evening Akamatsu, I have been informed of the situation and will hand over the files tomorrow morning when we meet. 

**Saihara Shuichi:** Is that alright with you?

He looked at the screen for a few minutes, the two ticks signalled that Kaori had indeed gotten the message, however, she hadn't read it. Shuichi cringed a little at the texts, he wasn’t used to being so formal with people while talking through the phone, Kirigiri was the only exception to the rule though, that was because she even used that manner of speech towards her girlfriend.

While he waited for Kaori to respond, the man finished drying his hair (using the hairdryer, of course) and turned on the tv to see if there was anything interesting to see. He went through the channels mindlessly, nothing caught his attention really, a new episode of ”The Bachelor” was airing and there was a girl in a sloth costume- _why would you do that? I understand that she wants to be remembered, but this is a bit excessive._ Soon his phone lit up and a soft _ding_ sound could be heard.

**Akamatsu Kaori:** I'm glad to hear that you are willing to cooperate, my boss informed me of the situation

**Akamatsu Kaori:** I presume you would have liked to talk to me about it, right?

**Akamatsu Kaori:** It's alright, I still hope we can talk even if it isn't work-related

Shuichi quickly read through the response and typed out his response.

**Saihara Shuichi:** Don't worry we can still talk, even if I would have liked to question you about a couple of things

**Saihara Shuichi:** I'll see you tomorrow at Kaede’s house then, good night.

**Akamatsu Kaori:** Good night Saihara

The detective allowed his face to drop onto the couch as exhaustion took over (both fiscal and emotional, he was mostly emotionally drained, however). Choosing to actually listen to his body, Shuichi turned off The Bachelor, where a girl admitted that she faked her accent to get attention- _again, why?_ And walked to his room. The bed wasn't as comfortable as last night- _so it was, indeed, my tiredness talking-_ yet he laid down and closed his eyes, letting sleep take over. He wondered if he was the only person in the one hundred and twenty-six million people who lived in Japan who was sleeping at one am.

***

The leader giggled as he watched the show with some members of DICE, it was so silly yet fun to watch all this attention sticking whores- much like himself- trying so desperately to win over a guy. Hearts would playfully hit his arm whenever he commented on the stupidity of the contestants, while Clubs would laugh along with him.

”What the fuck are you watching?” Rook- real name Kai- asked from the kitchen, his head poked out from the door frame, he was supposedly grabbing a midnight snack.

”The Bachelor, I think?” Knight- real name Haruo- answered from behind the couch (the poor guy couldn't sit with the rest of DICE most of the time because he took up too much space, he was a great pillow though) as he examined one of Kokichi’s plans.

”Don't knock it ’till you try it! It's so funny” Clubs- real name Riku- added, snickering a little. He was braiding Ace’s hair, one of the many things that helped the girl calm down after one of her ”bad days” like they called them.

”Emiko, did you take your meds? Or do you want me to go and look for them?” Diamonds asked in her usual mother-like manner. Ace shook her head and Clubs reminded her to stay still, pulling a bit of her hair as punishment. The girl let out a whine in response.

”I already took them, thanks, mom. And also” she turned to Kokichi, who pretended to be more focused on the screen than the girl ”thank you big bro” she placed a piece of chocolate inside her mouth- Hershey, her favourite, Ouma noted fondly.

”For what? I'm just being an amazing leader as always, no need to thank me” Kokichi replied, smiling at her. It wasn't forced (like some of his other ones), he loved his family more than anything in the whole world! Yep, that's right, even more than panta!

Hearts pushed him a little again and Clubs rolled his eyes, they were used to their leader’s behaviour after so many years after all. ”Can't you be serious for one minute? Just admit that you love us too” Jack said as they returned from the bathroom.

”Love? The only person I love is myself” Jack stared at him, the group could easily detect his lies by now, regardless of how easily spotted they were.

”Welp, you heard it here first folks” Spades- real name Isao- said ”Kokichi doesn't love us anymore, time to leave” he walked to the door and pretended to look for his key (Kokichi insisted that everyone in DICE should have a copy, even if he had to pay quite a bit of money for that to happen.)

”Couldn’t you wait? I'm almost done with Emiko’s hair” Clubs complained. He was, indeed, almost done, only a few hair strands remained untied at the bottom and the brunette quickly started to finish up his hard work (or so he claimed, everyone knew he could style hair with ease, it was his job after all.)

”Fine” Spades sighed ”if he says he loves us,” The blonde said, regardless of the fact that he wasn't about to leave without Clubs since he was the man’s ride home (they were roommates, as most of the other members of DICE).

”Do I have to?” Kokichi turned to Diamonds, only to see the woman nodding ”But mom, you already know I do!” he whined. Noticing that no one seemed to care about his fake tantrum he dropped the act. “Fine, I love you guys, now come ‘ere and give me a family hug!” Ouma solicited.

The group did as told and everyone crushed him into a loving embrace, even Bishop and Rook, who were both in the kitchen, came and added to the hug. It felt like his ribcage was being obliterated, especially with the addition of Bishop (the guy was _huge_ and could easily bend him in half if he wanted), but he didn't mind as long as it came from his family.

”Okay that's enough, you're killing me! I'm too young and pretty to die!” he exclaimed and DICE released him in an instant.

”I don't know about the pretty part” Heart chuckled as she fixed one of her pigtails. Kokichi stomped on the ground in protest.

”It’s getting late, everyone should be heading home by now” Bishop- real name Hikaru- commented. Eight of the members complained, nobody wanted to leave but they knew that at some point it was inevitable. ”I can give some of you a ride home if you need” the man offered.

Everyone said a final goodbye, shared another hug and left until the next weekend (sometimes one or two members would come by, but the ten of them would never be together on a weekday unless it was someone’s birthday.) Once the last person was out of the house Kokichi noticed how quiet it became. It didn't have the same warmth yet he couldn't bring himself to ask anyone to room with him, he had a bad experience with his roommate in college (she was a real bitch) and realised that he would rather be alone than risk a fight like that with anyone in DICE. He loved them all so much.

The lack of noise was soon replaced with yawning, it was only a little passed one am but his sleep schedule was fucked up and he had fallen asleep at four am last time, so it was understandable. He checked that the door was locked again (a bad paranoiac tendency of his) and then headed to his wardrobe looking for his pajamas.

With the oversized shirt and his boxers on, Kokichi headed to bed and hugged his stuffed animal close. The plush was a gift from DICE when he turned eighteen, the group had bought it and modified it themselves (mostly Diamonds since she was the one that could actually sew) and he held as much affection for the toy as he did for the people that gifted it to him.

Kokichi fell asleep smelling the sweet lavender scent that emanated from the stuffed animal and wishing to see his family as soon as possible. Which caused his last thought before drifting into unconsciousness to be- _what would it be like to be part of The Bachelor?_

***

Shuichi woke up feeling a lot better. He got out of bed with a smile- something that didn't happen often- and walked to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. Could it be that having the weight if this case off of his shoulders is what's making him feel so much lighter? The case. That case he spent so much time on- _fuck._

His smile fell in a flash and was replaced with an uneasy expression as he bitterly looked at his plants, they had it so easy, all they did was exist and make photosynthesis whenever they were hungry. He kinda wished he was a plant right now- _can I turn into one? It wouldn't be the first time I want the earth to swallow me whole._

The coffee machine roared to life as he pushed the button and the beans were crushed. He took in the smell and then decided that if watering the plants helped him calm down once then it should be able to do it again. Sahara left the kitchen (the coffee usually took a while to finish anyway) and went to look for the watering can, this time around, however, he knew where it was.

The watering can still reside in the back of the bathroom cupboard, just behind the extra shampoo bottles. He took it out and turned on the sink so he could fill it with tap water, once it was done he began walking around the house and watering all of his roommates (he took an extra second or two with each Peace Lily, they reminded him of his aunt too much to be able to overlook it.)

By the time he was done the coffee was ready, so he grabbed his usual mug and poured the drink inside. The warm bitter taste felt wonderful, he really needed this. He recalled that he had yet to establish a time in which he would go over to Kaede’s house, simply saying that he would go sometime today- _maybe I could go for lunch? I'll have to ask her though._

Saihara went to his room and got his phone, swiftly unlocking it and opening the chat he shared with his best friend.

**My chemical romance:** Kaede I was wondering when I can go to your place?

**Beethoven:** Whenever you want! I like having you over! :D

**My chemical romance:** Can I go for lunch?

**Beethoven:** So in like an hour?

**My chemical romance:** Yeah

**Beethoven:** Sounds good!

**Beethoven:** Also my sister is already here so don't be surprised when you arrived

**My chemical romance:** Okay see you soon

**Beethoven:** Cya!

Shuichi closed the app and looked at the time, _11:10,_ he still had a little over an hour to get there (taking into account that the trip to her house would take at least fifteen minutes) so he had enough time to eat something and change into appropriate clothes to go out before leaving. 

The first thing, he decided, was to eat some food. The fridge had ingredients in it, the problem was Shuichi himself, the man couldn't cook to save his life. Regardless, he would have to make do- _maybe I can make some eggs? It's the only thing I_ can _make without burning the house down._ He got the food out of its cold confinement and placed them on the countertop.

Scrambled eggs were a simple enough recipe and it was good for breakfast as well, his aunt had taught him the basics (he could make more than one recipe using eggs yet for some reason, no matter how hard his aunt tried, he could never get the pancakes right) so this should have been fairly easy.

Within half an hour the food was ready. He grabbed the plate and carried it with him to the living room, he sat on the couch and turned on the tv zapping through the channels. Just like last night, nothing interesting appeared, the news was the same as always (a robbery at a small candy store, a popular gang was accused of causing it.) In the end, Shuichi settled for whatever cop show he could find and didn't touch the remote control until he finished the eggs.

He did the dishes soon after and went back to his room to change- _how many degrees is it outside?_ According to the weather app on his phone, it was around eighteen degrees so his normal style should do. Sahara got a pair of jeans, a shirt, one of his many turtleneck sweaters and his iconic trench coat (some fans had seen him wearing it often and drew comparisons to what Sherlock Holmes would wear in the series.) Then he went to his office and placed all the documents regarding the case in a pile, thoroughly putting them inside of a bag.

Thankfully the apartment complex he lived in had its own garage, so he wasn't forced to look for a place to park in the busy street. His car was parked in the ground level waiting for the detective to finally get out of his house when he stepped out of the elevator. A black car wasn't that uncommon, however, it stuck out like a sore thumb between all the white, blue and red cars of his neighbours (they were quite... colourful people).

Shuichi got into the vehicle and started it up. Soon enough he was on his way towards Kaede’s house to share lunch with both her and Kaori and maybe, just maybe, he could talk to her about work even if it's just a little- _hopefully, she won't shoot down the subject immediately._

***

As he had predicted, the trip took fifteen minutes and before he knew it there he was, standing in front of the entrance to Kaede’s apartment. He carefully knocked on the door- even how he knocked sounded polite- and it opened almost instantly, a smiling pianist on the other side.

”Hey Shuichi, I'm glad you came. I hope you don't mind but I'm, like, halfway through making lunch” Kaede said as she hugged him (something that seemed present in most of his friends, they were pretty physically affectionate...except Maki that is.) The blonde pulled back and moved from the doorway so he could come in.

”Why wouldn't I come? I told you I'll be here. Also, it's nice seeing you so cheerful, I assume the practice is going well?” Shuichi replied, stepping into the apartment. The first thing that caught his attention was the woman sitting on the couch, she looked exactly the same as Kaede (as expected from twins) except her hair was a bit shorter, she was revising over some files it seemed. The woman looked up and smiled (Saihara absently noted that it didn't reach her eyes.)

”Saihara-kun, it's been a while hasn't it?” Kaori asked as she stood up and left the papers on top of the couch.

”Yes, I think the last time I saw you were months ago.” he recalled,” How have you been?” The question was mostly out of politeness, neither of them had ever been close since the only reason they were even acquainted was because of Kaede but that wasn't an excuse to stop caring about her altogether.

”Good with a lot of work though, you should know better than anyone how it can take you all around the country, doesn't it?” She was probably referring to his most recent case, a person called him from a city five hours away, regardless of that fact, he took the job and investigated the murder- he had, luckily, (mostly) gotten over his fear of working this type of cases years ago.

”Unfortunately” was all he answered. Silence filled the air in seconds, the only sound being the soft sound of the pianist as she hummed some familiar tune. ”I brought the files you asked” He finally said, taking out the documents from his bag.

”I was kinda hoping you wouldn't bring it up so soon, guess I can't delay the inevitable. You see, I don't really talk about work around Kaede but thank you” Kaori took the papers and walked over to a small suitcase located next to the tv stand, placing them inside before swiftly closing it again.

While she did that Shuichi took a quick glance at the files on the couch- _so much for not talking about work, huh?_ \- but had to stop any further inspection as Kaori came back. He could do that later if he had the opportunity, maybe.

”How have you been? We need to catch up, there's only so much a magazine can tell you after all and I'm not interested in your supposedly romantic relationship with Kaede” She patted the spot next to her and smiled warmly, there was no trace of the one she gave him earlier.

”You read those? I can't believe they do that, it makes me uncomfortable when they talk about it. It's as if two people from opposite genders can’t be friends without being attracted to each other” He involuntarily remembered each time someone at the grocery would approach him to ask about Kaede or some other gossip the magazines talked about. Kaori nodded in agreement. ”Besides that, I've been alright I guess. Work is the same as always”

”If you ignore _this_ little incident I suppose” she was clearly referring to the PSIA case ”I'm glad everything is fine. My sister, however, requested that I ask if you are seeing someone currently? Also, congratulations on coming out, I know from experience what it's like to have...negative backlash come from it” Shuichi frowned- _that's weird, Kaede’s parents aren't against the LGBTQ+ community in any way. She told me they were very accepting of her. Perhaps a former girlfriend or boyfriend._ ”It was an ex-friend of mine, he told me I was wrong about my identity when I came out as ace to him.”

”I'm sorry you had to go through that. My aunt and uncle were extremely supportive when I told them I was bi, I think they were just happy that now there's a bigger chance that they will have grandchildren. You know, since I can be attracted to more people and all of that.” Kaori laughed softly at the comment and Shuichi noted that it sounded almost as musical as Kaede’s laugh but not quite.

”Hey guys, do you mind setting up the table?” The pianist yelled from the kitchen “Also thanks for betraying me Kaori”. Both of them stood up and headed to look for what they would need (plates, utensils and alike). It didn't take long for everything to be prepared and the food to be finished. 

The group sat down and enjoyed lunch, Kaede wasn't the best cook- just like Shuichi himself- but she was better than him at least. Kaori talked a bit about the travelling she had to do- ”working in the internal department can be like that sometimes, just a heck of a lot of running around solving issues for my boss” were her exact words- and in return, Shuichi spoke about the recent homicide he worked on. Kaede would sometimes add her own comment until the spotlight finally fell on her performance.

”Right! I meant to show both of you the new song I've been working on!” she chirped and held onto Kaori’s sleeve as she dragged her to the piano room, Shuichi followed close behind. The pianist eagerly sat down on the bench, waiting for them to sit down.

”I actually composed this one so feel free to give me any criticism you have, I'm planning on opening the concert with it. I'm kinda nervous. Okay, okay. Here I go!” She said, clearly scared of their possible negative reactions. Shuichi gave her an encouraging smile and Kaori held her thumb up.

The song started and Saihara was immediately enchanted by the music. It was slow and peaceful at the beginning (for some strange reason it gave him a strange sense of familiarity), then it started going faster yet the same aura remained, giving away an odd sense of comfort. Shuichi couldn't pinpoint when it ended but the symphony slowly faded into the background of his mind as his consciousness drifted into a happy void.

Instinctively he clapped, Kaori soon joined in. Kaede beamed at them ”I'm guessing you liked it then?” she asked almost sarcastically.

”I don't know why you were nervous, it's incredible Kaede” Shuichi replied- he wondered if she felt that way every time he doubted his skills as a detective and ended up with the right deduction.

”I agree, it was beautiful. I'm sure that the audience will love it, you should compose more pieces yourself” Kaori told her sister. The pianist got up and hugged them, she was pretty grateful for this and it showed. ”Kaede you're choking me”

”Sorry” she let go. The room was filled with cheerful chatter for the rest minutes, more praises for Kaede’s talent and another magnificent melody. ”Oh, crap. I totally forgot” Kaede said after she finished the third song.

”What is it?” Shuichi asked- it wasn't like he was worried that more guests would suddenly be over and he had to make more social interaction, nope. _I can't even lie to myself._

”I need to help Kaori unpack, she has a meeting soon, right?” Kaede looked at her and Kaori nodded.

”It's fine Kaede, I'm able to do it by myself” She assured her sister.

”No, I'm the host so I'm helping you, sis. Do you mind Shuichi? I swear it's just a minute” The pianist pleaded.

”Yeah, I don't mind. I should get going anyway..” he started his goodbye but was cut off by Kaede.

”Don't go! It's just a minute then we can do something else” she begged.

”Fine, I'll just wait downstairs in the living room then,” he said and walked down the flight of stairs. He sat on the couch, not knowing what to do- it would have been easier to go home really, but he didn't want to upset Kaede.

Then something caught his eye. The files that Kaori had so meticulously stored in her bag were now slightly poking out of it as if someone had grabbed them. He walked over to it (suddenly becoming painfully aware of the noise that the sisters made while talking) and took them out of the bag.

_Huh_. Shuichi grabbed his phone from the back pocket and opened the camera, rapidly taking a couple of pictures of each file. The sound from the Akamatsus’ was low (almost as if they were whispering or murmuring to each other), so he pocketed the device and stacked the documents back where they belonged instantly. It looked a little sloppy yet he couldn't be bothered to care about that right now.

”Hey Shuichi, we finished up. Turns out my sister doesn't travel with a lot which is totally _not_ how I remembered that ’cause she used to bring two suitca-” Kaede stopped at the bottom of the stair and stared at Shuichi, who was casually looking outside the window behind Kaori’s bag. ”What are you looking at? Spying on my neighbours?” she joked.

Shuichi forced a laugh and took a quick glance at the people in the apartment in front of them. A girl with light brown pigtails was throwing her arms around seemingly to emphasize whatever she was talking about, her hair bounced a little as she did.

”They seem like...interesting people” he said trying to act like he wasn't taking pictures of her sister's belongings rather watching someone have an argument (if you could call it that, based on the little he could see of her face she wasn't mad).

”That's one way to put it. I don't even know how many people live there, I've seen this guy, he's really short and has purple hair, the most but I'm still not sure. One time they had their music too loud and it could be heard all the way over here, so I told them to shut up, they did but the weird thing is that the next day I found a cake on my doorstep with the word ”sorry” written on it. Kinda wack but they seem nice enough.” Kaede recounted the experience- _sure sounds like interesting people guess I was right on that._

When the pair turned to look at Kaede’s neighbours again the girl was frantically moving her arms, calling whoever was in the apartment with her. She turned around and enthusiastically waved at them, Shuichi hesitated a bit ,regardless, he waved back. The short man that Kaede had described before appeared in the window and looked at them sceptically, he said something that Saihara assumed to be ”oh, shit” and grinned.

Shuichi was well aware by this point that they had recognised him- he found it odd that he wasn't approached yesterday when he went out with Kaede like most of the time, not that he wasn't grateful for it. He prayed that they didn't take out their phones and snap a picture of him and Kaede together, surprisingly they didn't. The guy just waved at them and dragged the girl away from the window, closing the curtains afterwards.

”They definitely knew about you, huh, Prince Detective?” Kaede said in an attempt to calm her obviously-nervous friend. “Shuichi it’s fine, they’re my neighbours you aren’t going to see them every day” she reassured him.

“I-I know, sorry. Even after all this time it still makes me nervous when strangers in the middle of the street stop me to ask me for a picture or say hi as if they knew me. You know that I can't talk to people I'm not familiar with” He laughed despite the feelings those memories brought back (mainly uncomfortableness and nervousness, maybe even anxiety. God, he remembers that time he was in the middle of the library and someone approached trying to talk to him, claiming they were a fan. Yikes).

“Yeah, I’m aware. Don’t be afraid to talk to new people, though, Shuichi! Who knows? Maybe your soulmate is a bizarre guy or gal that you meet at Amami-kun’s café for all we know!” Kaede tried to cheer him up, there is no use in dwelling on his anxieties any longer.

”Now you're making me want to go there, I really need another cup of coffee” Apparently, sleeping for eighteen hours (between last night and the one prior to that) wasn't enough for his caffeine-addicted body as it demanded another cup of the intoxicating liquid.

”Right, my bad. I shouldn't have kept you for so long, you're free to leave Shuichi. Thanks for coming by though! I'm sure Kaori appreciated it to” Kaede replied, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to keep her best friend here any longer after that awkward wave exchange with the neighbours.

”I did, thank you Saihara-kun, it sure has been a minute” Kaori said, including herself in the conversation- _has she been standing there the whole time and only now made a comment?_ “I hope the next time I see you isn't in my office or anywhere near the PSIA offices.”

”Same here, I'm not really up for being a criminal” Shuichi let out an (awkward and seemingly fake) laugh. ”Thank you for inviting me Kaede, tell me if you ever want to come over. You too Akamatsu-san” He instantly added after realizing his mistake.

Kaede walked him to the door, gave him one last hug and a kiss on the cheek as a form of goodbye, and closed the door. Now that he was out of the apartment it felt like he could actually breathe, something about the air in the house felt heavy yet he didn't know why. Shuichi walked back to his car to drive to Amami’s shop, stopping for a few moments before he started the car to look at the pictures.

When he was done, he drove to Rantaro’s café. Coffee was all he needed right now.

***

_Home sweet home_. He thought as he took his shoes off and dropped on the couch, something about today had made him extremely tired- maybe it was all the social interaction of perhaps the man that stopped him in order to talk to him when he was trying to solely drink his much-needed coffee and leave.

His phone had made a small _ding_ while he was at the café yet after the encounter he couldn't care less, all he wanted was to get back to his apartment and _die_ (that part may be a bit of an exaggeration, regardless it gets the point across).

A single notification appeared on the screen and it read: _1 new mail in your inbox._ He had this app’s notifications on to know whenever someone contacted him regarding work (as this was his work email) so it didn't surprise him, maybe someone was looking for their missing relative and wanted his help.

Shuichi tapped on the screen, entered his numeric combination and looked at the sender.

_From: Internal departments of the Public Security Intelligence Agency_

_To: Saihara Shuichi_

_Subject: You have been given a notice_

_Detective Saihara Shuichi,_

_We have contacted you earlier this week to solicit your cooperation in discontinuing the illegal investigation you created. Our employee, Akamatsu Kaori, has informed us that the files are in her possession and we thank you for that. However, said member notified that you also went through her personal belongings, therefore, we cannot safely say that you haven't taken any photographs of the contents of her bag, which includes sensitive material that can only be seen by other workers at the Public Security Intelligence Agency._

_Because of this reason and your previous acts against this country's security system we are giving you an orange warning (if you are unaware of our terminology an orange notice is given to individuals and objects that could be dangerous for the country’s security) as it appears that you aren't willing to stop._

_This is a final warning. The existence of this notice won't be known to the public as we aren't against you keeping your job, however, if you show any other activities that could prejudice the PSIA we won't have any other choice but to take you into custody._

_Have a good day,_

_Internal departments of the Public Security Intelligence Agency._

_You have to be fucking kidding me!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a dream one of my friends called me they/them for the first time instead of my other pronouns(? (How do you say this without revealing the gender I was born as?) and it made me really happy...so yeah. Don’t know if any of you care, but those are my pronouns (online at least, I’m kinda nervous to tell irl people.)
> 
> I’ll try to update the chat next, however if I don’t it’s because I’m participating in Saiouma week and have too much school work.
> 
> Have a great day/night~!


	3. You and me would be a big conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally meet, but things don't go quite like Kokichi imagined...at least not at first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm so sorry this took so long, I was busy with a big school (history, ew) paper and had low motivation for a while. But I’m back and bring the moment you’ve been waiting for!  
> Yes, they are going to talk. I know, you’re welcome.  
> This is also the longest chapter yet (it has like 7k words or something.)  
> I hope it makes up for the amount of time it took, enjoy! (-3-)

_What does Michi want? It isn’t normal for them to come with such short notice._

Kokichi sat on his couch, mindlessly scrolling through his phone. He had received a message from one of the members of DICE (Jack to be precise) announcing that they were going to Ouma’s apartment as they needed to tell him about an important matter. 

Even if he didn't show it, Kokichi was pretty eager to see his visitor, since Jack didn't show that much emotion (if any at all) so the fact that they even added an exclamation point to their text was quite the achievement, and it certainly meant that the topic was significant- _this is going to be good. Maybe they finally pranked their boss as I recommend, that would be fun._

“Ko, you aren't going to believe this” Jack said as they opened the front door, carefully closing it behind them. Ouma looked up from his phone and smiled at his friend “Remember the detective Saihara? Your prince?” Kokichi couldn't fathom how the teasing had gotten to this point, at first it was only Hearts who started calling Saihara “his prince charming” and now even Jack joked about it!- _I'm gonna get them back for this._

Regardless, he nodded “What about him?” The leader asked, adjusting in the couch so that Jack could seat as well. Unknowing to his subordinates, Ouma was still researching Saihara and just before his friend got here he was listening to a podcast about his cases- _so much for promising I wouldn't look him up again._ It wasn't his fault that he couldn't stop himself, it was quite the rabbit hole (especially when Tsumugi found out and recommended this podcast and various other pieces of media about him.)

“This is confidential stuff, can I trust you with it Ko?” Kokichi nodded- _why do they always say that? Boring._ “Good, don't give me that look you know It's just standard procedure” The leader rolled his eyes, Jack knew him too well. “Apparently he was given a notice by one of our higher-ups due to an illegal investigation of sorts.” 

“Really now? I didn't know that he was such a bad boy, gimme the details” Now, _this_ was interesting. Ouma had spent his free time (in-between his early morning job and hanging out with DICE on weekends) reading about the PSIA and how it worked, just so he could get the hang of what Jack was doing. The different types of notices were pretty basic stuff, a lot of people knew about them and their meanings since it was on the PSIA’s official page- _thanks my beloved country, I love how you give out your information to the public. Real classy._

“Orange. It seems like this investigation was getting out of hand but I couldn’t get any more information, it is true that I work in the communications section so there wasn’t really a reason for me to know, still, it was spreading like wildfire, you would be surprised how many of my coworkers are thirsty over that guy. Like you.” Jack smirked.

Kokichi grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at their face. “Wow, you are really funny Michi! Got another one under those short sleeves of yours?” Jack fixed up their hair, they usually covered one of their eyes with their bangs (this was due to the blindness they suffered in that eye alone, all of DICE did have a bad childhood, this was just one of the consequences.)

“Just trying to let you know how your prince is, I don't think that podcasts are enough” Jack said as they pulled out their phone- _fuck, how do they know that?_ “if I'm not wanted here then I’ll tell Kaz to come and pick me up. Don’t do anything stupid Ko” when they finished texting Kokichi jumped up and pulled Jack into a hug. They chuckled slightly yet hugged but headed to the door “I mean it Ko, no outrageous plans or anything.”

“I think living with Kaz is affecting you” Kokichi replied and got a stern look from his friend “I’ll be fine, relax. It’s not like I’m gonna hop over to my dear old neighbour’s house and ask for Saihara’s address.” Jack raised an eyebrow, clearly interested. “The pianist that lives in front of me? She's Kayayday or whatever, his girlfriend. The other day Yua was over and we saw them looking over here, she went all fangirl-y and started waving at him, the guy was super uncomfortable. It was really funny” Kokichi snickered a little at the memory. 

Hearts had frantically called him over from the window where she stood and he had to stop making his _delicious and life-saving_ sandwich to see what she was so excited about since it certainly wasn't her ADHD acting up. Lo and behold there stood Saihara Shuichi (Ouma had forced himself to react as if he didn't give a crap when actually he had the urge to wave frantically, just like Hearts.)

“The one that shouted at us that one time?” Jack approached the window and moved the curtains (Kokichi usually closed them, the only room where the window was both open and without the curtains covering it was the kitchen.) “I thought she looked familiar, I wonder why Yua didn't say anything since she reads so many magazines about it.”

“ ’Cause we were having such a good time, who cares about Miss Piano? Except when Kaz forced us to make a cake for her, she didn't deserve it! Not after she yelled at us” Kokichi huffed. Jack looked at them unimpressed, it had been Ouma’s idea to make a cake to help Clubs calm down (he hadn't grown up in the best home during his childhood before he was sent to the orphanage that is, so he had a tendency to get nervous and sometimes frightened when someone yelled at him. Thankfully it had gotten better during the years.)

“I had fun making it too, and I know that Riku appreciated it, Ko” Jack simply replied, over ten years of knowing their leader led to being able to see through his various white lies. “I need to go, I'm wasting my lunch break here” They took out their phone again, probably to see if Diamonds had responded.

Kokichi gasped dramatically “Are you implying that spending time with me is wasting it?! I should revoke your position as second in command if you keep this up, Michi!” He exclaimed pointing an accusatory finger at Jack. “Fine, if you want to leave little old me alone again then that's great, I don't want you here anyway” The leader claimed (back when they were kids Jack would get annoyed at him for this, reminding Kokichi that he had told them DICE would always be together. It normally ended with Ouma stealing some sort of sweet from the ill-conditioned kitchen and offering it to Jack as a form of apology. After one or two times they got used to it and didn't complain ever again.)

Jack smiled fondly “Kaz said she's downstairs so I'll be going now, I love you too Ko. See you soon” and with that, they opened the front door and left the front door. _Lunch break, huh? It's already like twelve pm, damn what a way to waste my Sunday morning. Time to do something useful...maybe I can use this info about the detective to my advantage._ He would never understand how Jack could work on weekends.

***

Needless to say, Shuichi woke up feeling particularly grumpy the next morning. How good was Kaori’s eyesight exactly? In the end, it was all for nothing because he got that stupid notice anyway! What if his clients found out somehow? What if the information was leaked and he never got another case in his entire life? What if his uncle stopped talking to him since he was such a disappointment?

Shuichi was so caught up in his thought that he didn't realise his breath was now hollow and rapid. He took a deep (yet shaky) breath and exhaled, then he repeated the motion a few times. It wasn't perfect but at least he wasn't crawling into a ball on the edge of his room balling his eyes out and talking to Kaede through the phone, constantly being cut by his own sobs. Again.

He needed to take his mind out of it, but how?- _Well, watering my plants makes me feel better, maybe I need more plants? Yeah, that's it, I'll head to the flower store down the street and buy some flowers._ However, before he could go do that, a shower was necessary and breakfast as well since he had been neglecting his stomach for the past...around thirty minutes- _thirty minutes?!_

Sahara got up and grabbed a set of clothes from his wardrobe, heading to the bathroom afterwards. He placed them on the counter and started taking off his pyjamas (he tried to avoid looking into the mirror, he had never liked his reflection even after all the training he did with Kaito he was yet to grow more confident in his own image.)

When he arrived at the kitchen (after finishing his shower and changing, of course) Shuichi didn't know what to cook, he had been eating leftover take out food and eggs for the past week and scrambled eggs didn't sound tasty right now- _maybe I can go to Amami-kun’s café? The food was very good and I'm pretty certain it's open at this hour, besides the flower store would be along the way so I can stop when I'm getting back._

Knowing where he was headed, Saihara grabbed a coat and his car keys, pocketing his phone soon after and left. The café was fairly close by (about a ten or fifteen-minute car ride) so he should be fine. The same old car waited on the garage downstairs- regardless of the number of years he had kept it, Shuichi found himself unable to buy another one since this one was a gift from both his uncle and aunt. You would think that by now he would be over it, yet it had felt as if his own mother died when his uncle told him about her death. It still stung.

***

Rantaro’s café was the same as always, a warm cosy atmosphere and the smell of freshly made food lingered in the air. A waiter came over and greeted him, they were vaguely acquainted (at least the man knew his usual spot) to the point where Saihara could say ”Thank you Shinguji-kun” without fumbling all over his words.

He looked over the menu and spotted a simple selection of pancakes- it had been so long since he ate those. Giving in to his desires, Saihara ordered the pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, memories of enjoying homemade breakfast with his family folded his brain as he told the waiter what he wanted.

After the long-haired man went into the kitchen Shuichi wondered just how much was on that menu, whenever he came to the café the only thing he asked for was a coffee (maybe something sweet if he was really hungry) but nothing else. Unfortunately, the waiter took the menu so he didn't have the option to look at it again.

It didn't take long for the food to be ready, however, this time it was Amami who came over (Shuichi still couldn't wrap his head around why the man liked working at his own establishment and any time he asked, Rantaro would dismiss the topic instantly.)

“Morning Saihara-kun, never expected you to order food here but I guess this is the second time you prove me wrong, huh?” Amami asked, he always had this friendly tone in his voice and a comforting aura that followed him- maybe that is one of the things that made him such a good big brother, not that he talked from experience.

“Yeah, I guess so. Thank you for the food Amami-kun, I didn’t know you had so much in your menu” He replicated the smile that Rantaro gave him- who knows perhaps under different circumstances they might have ended together? _No, definitely not._

“It’s not like you look at it often though” The man laughed slightly. He placed the plate of food in front of the detective and a small container with whipped cream, Shuichi could feel his mouth watering- could he eat here every day?

“Your right, I don’t usually eat outside of my house, unless I’m at Kaede’s I suppose.” Sahara rubbed the back of his neck. It was partially due to the fact that sometimes people approached him and asked for a picture and whatnot, but also because he just didn't leave his house that often.

“Well, you know that we are open until eight so you're welcome to pop by whenever you want Saihara-kun” Rantaro looked over to another table and noticed that they were waving their hand, clearly trying to get his attention. He rolled his eyes- _is he familiar with this person or annoyed?-_ and said goodbye to Shuichi before heading to the other table.

“I’ll keep it in mind, see you later Amami-kun,” He said as Rantaro walked away.

***

“Absolutely not. I already told you that he doesn’t like it when people randomly talk to him, you can’t just sit at his table like that” _Boring._ Kokichi held up his mischievous grin as Rantaro scolded him- _damn, he really thinks he's my big bro, huh?_

“Come on Ranran! You're talking as if I'm suddenly gonna ask him on a date or something, chill I got this. Your dear brother is the best at approaching shy people, didn't I tell you about that one time I talked to the quiet kid in my class back in high school and we became best friends? I mean, sure, she turned out to be a cold-blooded assassin and I had to order my organization to kill her, but we had some good moments.” Ouma replied, making up the story as he went. It was a routine at this point to lie about DICE, even to Rantaro (his closest friend, outside of DICE, since high school and one of his many big brothers.)

“Aha, and what was her name again? Because all I remember from high school is you pranking almost everyone in the class and me, Miu and Keebs having to stop them from punching you at least once a week.” Rantaro said, “Look, Ko, I have nothing against you talking to him just don't make him uncomfortable, okay?”

“Me? Making someone uncomfortable? When have I ever done that Ranran? I'm such an angel” Kokichi smiled innocently (if there was one smile of his you couldn't trust it was definitely this one.) The avocado raised an eyebrow “I already told you to relax, I just wanna chat with Mr Sherlock over there, I promise I won't make him regret being born.”

“Fine, but if anything happens I'll have to revoke your panta privileges” Kokichi gasped- _classic Ranran move, threatening me with food! It's not like he will go through with it though, he likes me too much, but still._

“You’re so mean big bro! All I wanted to do was talk with the famous guy over there and you think I'm going to place a bomb on his seat!” A clear reference to the time he added a glitter bomb inside one of his classmate's bags- in his defence, that girl was a homophobic asshole and deserved it- and she had to run to the bathroom, her face covered in rainbow-coloured glitter ( _thanks Haruo._ )

“It isn't like that Ko, but he's my friend and I don't want him to never come back in fear that you are around, I know firsthand how intense you can get,” Rantaro explained. _Fair point._

“Stop making me repeat myself it’s boring! I already told you it's gonna be _fine,_ I can be the nicest person in the world if I wanted to” Kokichi bragged- he was right though, back in high school he used to play the starring role in every single performance (it didn't matter if it was a musical or a play, neither did his age apparently) and his teacher described him as ”gifted” and ”extremely talented”. Sometimes he couldn't understand how some of the kids he worked with were scared of performing in front of other people (that's a lie, he does but only because that's what he studied in college.)

“I gotta go to _actually_ take someone’s order, be nice, got it?” Kokichi nodded eagerly in response, both of them knew that Ouma would talk to Saihara regardless of what Rantaro said. “Remember that if it gets out of hand I’m taking away your pantas” The avocado yelled as he headed to a table that did require his service, unlike Kokichi who only called him over to tell him his amazing plan (like every other one he created.)

_Time to have a friendly conversation with Mister Saihara Shuichi._

***

On the other end of the establishment, Shuichi was delighted with how good these pancakes tasted, it had been quite a while since he had any and they were delicious. He took the last bite (dipping it in what was probably way more whipped cream that he should have) and placed the utensils on top of his plate. The detective made a mental note to ask Amami who cooked for his café- it's not like he would hire them or anything, he was just curious as to who was the skilful person behind this.

He saw a familiar mop of green hair pass by- Amami he noted- which seemed to be rushing to a nearby table. The owner spared him a small, almost sympathetic smile, and continued walking- _why did Amami-kun look at me like that? Maybe I'm reading this wrong and he was just smiling like a normal person, that's probably it. Calm down Shuichi, what's gotten into you?_

Saihara was too distracted with the turmoil in his mind- which to him appeared without a reason- to notice the small sound that the chair’s cushion made when someone sat on it. After a few seconds, however, he looked up from the plate (when did his gaze travel back there, he wouldn't know) and was met with a pair of big, round purple eyes- almost like a child's, he thought absently.

The detective looked at the strange person that was now across from him. His hair seemed to defy the laws of gravity (like Kaito’s), sticking up and taking a shape similar to an octopus. His child-like face was placed on top of his hands and his smile grew as soon as the two made eye contact (if he paid enough attention, he could tell that something was a little off about his right eye.)

 ~~The…child’s? Teenager’s?~~ The boy’s arms were covered by an oversized obnoxiously pink jacket, which covered the plain white t-shirt underneath. He could also see the upper part of an overall with two pins, both of them of the LGBTQ+ community, one was the classic rainbow flag and the other had several shades of blue, green and white which he quickly recognised as the MLM flag- yes, he was one of those kids who searched the different pride flags back in high school because, for some strange reason, it made him feel better and more comfortable with himself.

“Hey, are you dead or something? Have you been a zombie all along?!” The boy made a dramatic gasp and Shuichi was suddenly snapped out of his shock “Aw man, you’re alive.” Why did he sound so disappointed? “Anyway, mister shock-holmes, you're Saihara Shuichi, right~?” Oh no, he saw where this was going.

“U-um” He tried to respond but the words got stuck in his throat, he was already having a pretty difficult day without this and meeting a fan was the last thing he wanted. “Yes” _Took you long enough._

“Dear Atua, finally, I’ve been all over the city looking for you! At one point I even flew to another country, it’s been, like, a day since I started searching. You need to make yourself easier to find Saihara.” The boy shook his head, sighing. Shuichi immediately felt bad, had this stranger really done all of that just to find him? He was going to get pretty disillusioned when he actually met him (if he was able to say more than a simple word that is.)

“Sorry,” The detective said, yet it didn't seem like the boy caught it because of how low it was. Geez, that email sure did a lot of good for him.

“What, thief stole your tongue?” _That's a pretty weird way to say that._ The boy tilted his face a little and Saihara watched (almost mesmerised) as his hair bounced slightly, following the action- it looked really soft too, but he wasn't going to focus on that. He opened his mouth to repeat his apology. 

“That’s not how the saying goes..it’s cat got your tongue” Is what came out of his mouth instead. The boy’s eyes widened a bit as if he was in shock, Shuichi thought that was a strange reaction to such a simple sentence since the saying was common and he believed the stranger changed it on purpose.

“Really? I didn’t know that, back in my house everyone said it like that until one day a thief came and cut off my uncle’s tongue for real!” _What?!-_ The boy's eyes filled with tears and Saihara wasn't sure how to react to such information, it's not every day that a stranger comes up to you and starts talking about a tongue-thief. “That’s a lie though, did you actually fall for it? You would think that a detective would've been better at spotting lies, how disappointing. The truth is, I just say it that way ‘cause the original is way too boring.”

The detective blinked, clearly astonished- how could someone lie about such a serious matter? “I’m...sorry for disappointing you..? Who are you exactly?” He hesitated, with the newly found information that this individual may lie about important topics Shuichi wasn't sure he could trust whatever name the boy said.

“If you really are sorry then you should beg for forgiveness. Come on, get down to your knees and beg like a dog!” The boy’s eyes sparkled as he ordered it- _excuse me?! He lies to me and then expects me to_ beg _for his forgiveness? Who even is this guy?!_

“I’m not going to do that and could you please answer my question” The stranger's eyes quickly lost their spark and his smile fell. The boy then raised an eyebrow- _did he really? Oh god, I think I'm going to have a headache_ “who are you?”

He let out a dramatic gasp “How rude of me! I’m Amami Rantaro, a pleasure to meet you” The boy extended his hand through the table and gave a polite smile- _yeah, no._ It was Shuichi’s turn to raise his eyebrow as the purple-haired stranger clearly wasn't the owner of the café.

“No you aren’t, I know Amami-kun and you're certainly not him,” Saihara said. The boy stared at him blankly and removed his hand. His once blank face (which honestly freaked him out a little, the only person he knew that could pull off such a piercing pocket face was Kirigiri’s girlfriend) quickly morphed into a grin.

“Aw man, you got me. Nishishi” The stranger laughed (if you could call that a laugh, it seemed to fake to be one, though) and placed his hands behind his head.

“Could you please tell me your real name?” Shuichi wasn't sure how much time had passed since they first started talking but he already had a small headache and this interaction wasn't helping, albeit it was probably the reason why he had one in the first place.

“I’m Ouma Kokichi for plebs like you” The boy- _Ouma_ said. Sahara chose to ignore the insult in the last part and focus on his name, it sounded vaguely familiar, and he could swear that he has seen that hair before. However, Shuichi couldn't pinpoint where.

“Is that your real name?” Shuichi was sceptical, can you blame him though? This guy had lied about a thief cutting off his uncle's tongue and then tried to steal Amami’s identity, it would certainly be hard to trust him.

“Who knows, I’m a liar after all” Ouma shrugged- _extremely reassuring, thank you._

“I could tell.” He murmured, placing a hand on top of his mouth. “Do you need anything Ouma or were you here to give me a headache?” The boy’s eyes widened and he looked taken back by Shuichi’s sudden bluntness- the stress of everything wasn't only making him more anxious than usual, it had also affected his patience and, honestly, he wasn't in the mood to talk with this guy (he still wasn't sure about his age.)

“How rude of you Saihara-chan!” He exclaimed, his eyes were watery and now Saihara realised that he might have hurt his feelings- _crap!_ “Now I get why they say to never meet your idols. You're so mean!” Tears started rolling down Ouma’s cheeks and he made _extremely loud_ noises to accompany it (almost too loud if you thought about it.)

Some people around them spared the duo a look, Shuichi could feel their eyes piercing him- _shit. What do I do?_ “Hey, it's fine, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so rude, I'm just not having a great day today and I took it out on you without a reason. I really am sorry, so could you please stop crying?” His voice sounded pretty desperate, however, that wasn't surprising since he was pretty desperate right now.

“Oh, I know that already,” Ouma said. One last tear left his eyes and then the waterfall stopped abruptly, Shuichi could only stare dumbfounded at the boy. “What’s with that look? Did you really think I was crying? Nishishi” The octopus-haired boy laughed (it still sounded fake yet Saihara didn't focus on that.)

“W-What? I thought that you were angry at me.” He asked and sighed- interacting with this boy was awfully overwhelming, what god had he angered?

“Nope!” Ouma popped the P “You were _really_ worried, huh? You need to get better at detecting lies Saihara-chan”- It was the second time the guy had mentioned it already, was he really that bad?- “But don't worry mister detective, I know about your little _orange_ problem” He smirked at Shuichi and the man’s heart dropped- _how does he know about that?_

“H-How do you know about…?”- _It can't be, the PSIA said they wouldn't tell the public. Did they lie? I didn't see it in the news or anything_ (then again, if they are letting prisoners go free, allegedly, then he wouldn't put it past them to lie like that.)

Ouma tilted his head and giggled “Nishishi. Let me tell you a little secret, Saihara-chan.” His face came closer to Shuichi’s and the detective became aware that his personal space was being violated, leaning back a little to contrast with how the boy in front of him bent across the table. “I'm the leader of a ten thousand member organization, you think I wouldn't know if one of the most famous worldwide detectives received a notice?” Ouma whispered- _ten thousand members? that doesn't sound realistic! How could a-a child lead such a big organization and how is it that the public isn't aware? Is he lying to me again?_

“You’re lying again, aren't you?” Shuichi responded, swallowing his nervousness. Ouma sat normally again, a bored expression on his face as he inspected his nails and Saihara felt like he could breathe again. “If an organization like that was to exist then everyone would know of it already.”

“Silly Saihara-chan” Ouma shook his head “We’re a secret organisation of course. We control the world from the shadows!” The boy’s voice was filled with enthusiasm. It almost sounded like a kid telling a bizarre story at school to impress their friends, then again, Shuichi didn't know Ouma’s age.

“That doesn't sound very plausible,” Saihara said, “Ouma-kun, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how old are you?” The boy scoffed.

“Can’t you tell Saihara-chan? I'm obviously a sixty-nine-year-old queen from Europe.”- Now, that's a very evident lie. “Why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me Saihara-chan is one of those weird perverts who like guys that look like their children! Gross!” Ouma stuck his tongue out.

“What?! No!” Shuichi exclaimed- he didn't even think about whether or not this guy was attractive! Ouma looked pretty young so he was confused. Wait. Did Ouma have any experiences like that?! Oh no, now he was wondering if the boy had had to encounter perverts in his everyday life. Saihara hoped he didn't.

“Well, since you asked kindly and don't seem like a weirdo I guess I'll tell you. I'm 23.”- _We are the same age? But he doesn't look like it.-_ “Yeah, I know I look like a kid, stop staring at me like that Saihara-chan!” Shuichi snapped out of it, he had probably made Ouma uncomfortable.

“Sorry, but you're right, you don't really look twenty-three. Not that that's a bad thing, though!” He tried to correct himself since Shuichi didn't know if his appearance was a sensitive topic to Ouma.

“Nah, it’s fine. I've been called a flat-chested girl before so I got used to it” Ouma shrugged, Shuichi couldn't help but imagined how awkward that must have been (although from the little he knew about Ouma, the guy would have probably laughed at the person.) They stayed in silence for a few seconds before the octopus-haired guy spoke up “Look at what you did Saihara-chan! You made me go off-topic.” He cleared his throat “As I was saying before someone stopped to ask for meaningless information, I'm the leader of this organization and I have a deal for you.”

“What kind of deal?” For some strange reason, Saihara felt like the man in front of him would threaten his life and make him play a series of dumb games in order to “save himself” only to reveal it was a lie all along. Ouma merely smirked.

“I have a way in which you could keep working on that little investigation of yours, without the PSIA knowing” _Really?_ Shuichi stared at him, he didn't know if Ouma was being serious (he's a liar after all) , regardless, he entertained the idea, what if the octopus-haired man was telling the truth and he got to crack the case and send the corrupted people to jail?- _I should at least hear him out._

“How?” The detective asked. It wasn't a smart move to trust the liar, but he was going to anyway.

“Oh, it's very simple actually!” Ouma winked at Shuichi, not a good sign. “We’ll just have to pretend to be dating” The detective’s eyes widened- _Excuse me?! How can he say something like that so casually?!_

“Wh-Why would we do that?!” Saihara’s voice sounded almost like a screech, he needed a minute. This random guy walks up to his table, lies to him not once but _twice_ (the second one could be considered an attempt at identity theft. He didn't have any of Amami’s legal documents though….he hoped) and then casually said that the only way to help with his problem was to act as if they were in a relationship?! What was wrong with this guy?! What had Shuichi done to deserve this?!

Ouma scoffed- _he's offended now?-_ “No need to get so riled up Saihara-chan, for your information, I'm not a bad boyfriend I was even voted partner of the month in my organization” _That can't be a real thing_ “And to answer why, well let's just say I've been significantly bored lately and having you around would be a nice distraction” Shuichi kept staring at him, trying to process what the _fuck_ he had just proposed and the ridiculous reason.

“So let me get this straight-

“The plan’s super gay, but sure”

“You want to act as if you were my boyfriend for whatever absurd reason you have and, in return, I can continue working on my case?” It was utterly outrageous to even consider such a thing, if Ouma wanted a distraction so badly couldn't he do something like a normal person, like, learn to bake or something? Or find a partner like a normal person?

“Now you're starting to get it, my beloved detective, but also no.” The octopus-haired man sighed at the other's confusion “I’m gonna give you my protection, so that way our lovely security system doesn't know that you're still working. I can't really get them completely out of your ass, though” Shuichi cringed at the expression “And in return, you help me out whenever I need you to.”

“Then why should we pretend to be dating in the first place?” Having the ability to carry out his work without someone constantly monitoring him sounded great, but having to convince other people that he had any type of relationship with the man in front of him didn't.

“To keep the facade that you're actually a _responsible_ citizen that _totally_ isn't doing something illegal” Ouma smiled at him and Saihara cocked his eyebrow, there had to be something more to this “Fine, that way I can also keep an eye on you, you know? Don't want you snooping around for my organization. Besides, don't you get tired of fans asking you out or pervs on the internet?”

Shuichi put a hand over his mouth again (a tendency he had whenever he was working on a case)- Ouma did have a point, several people on social media had asked him to meet up before which he, of course, denied every time. And it wasn't a strange occurrence to have someone ask him in person.

“So? Come on, it isn't that difficult to make a decision” Ouma whined. He had only known him for..an hour maybe? And it was quite easy to notice how childish he could get- did he perhaps work with children or was it just for attention?

“It's nothing, I guess you could also be considered one of those fans who come up to me and suddenly ask for a date, even if it's fake in your case” The octopus-haired man pouted “But you are right, I don't have a lot of options here. I might consider it Ouma-kun, I'm sorry for not trusting a stranger I met under an hour ago.”

Ouma’s face was blank once again. Shuichi felt like his eyes were burning into his face, scanning every little detail, until he swapped it for a bored expression. “Oh, well, sucks to be you then Saihara-chan. I was really hoping you wouldn't be so boring” The man stood up (Shuichi could verify that he was, indeed, wearing an overall with various pins. It made him look _way_ younger than he actually was) and got closer to Saihara “If you ever do change your mind though mister detective, call me” he winked and walked away.

Shuichi watched him leave the establishment and relaxed (he didn't notice how tense he got when Ouma invaded his personal space for the _second time_.) That was one weird interaction and he was sure that forgetting it would be difficult, especially if the octopus-haired man was waiting for the other to call- _wait, he said to call him yet I don't have his number. Why am I wondering about that anyway, I don't plan on doing it. He's probably just playing a prank, maybe a friend of his told him about the notice. Yes, that's probably it._

When he moved his right hand upwards to rub his temple, (the headache was still there) Saihara noticed the piece of paper that was lying beneath it. A white and small square (which was unmistakably a napkin) with swirly handwriting on top, it had some numbers scribbled in it- a phone number. The detective grabbed the paper and moved it closed to his face, however, he couldn't see anything else, just the numbers and the words _Ouma Kokichi_ and a smiley face under it.

Shuichi held onto it for a second and then stuffed it into his pocket (albeit, he did hesitate a bit but the detective reminded himself that it was just in case anything happened anyway.) As soon as he saw Amami walk by he asked for the bill, receiving a nod in response. While he waited for the check, Shuichi kept replaying the interaction (involuntarily, mind you) inside his mind- it wasn't his fault though, Ouma was a very bizarre person, to say the least, and the conversation was pretty confusing.

Amami handed him the bill and quickly walked away, it seemed that the café was starting to have more customers as time passed- how long exactly had he been talking to Ouma? He took his phone from the pocket and looked at the time, the screen replayed with a bright _12:56._ He estimated that he had arrived a little after half-past eleven, which means that they had been talking for maybe a little over an hour- _it felt like longer, an eternity to be precise._ Shuichi sat and waited until a waiter came around (it was Shinguji this time) and paid.

***

 _How?_ Kokichi walked out of the café feeling _just peachy,_ not frustrated at the detective for not accepting the deal. Why didn't he anyway? He had thought it about it a lot and came up with the perfect plan (no, no he didn't. He spent, like, an hour and a half on it at best but it was quite a good idea.) 

Saihara would have been able to keep working since the liar was going to make sure that Jack didn't allow the rest of the PSIA to know he was still working on it- they were surprisingly good at hiding things, after all. And then if the police ever got close to catching DICE he could arrange something with the detective to help them get off the radar again- he wasn't sure if the police were after then currently, yet having an escape plan was his speciality.

The only thing that they had to do to ensure that they both were protected from some security system was to pretend like they were all lovey-dovey and shit. Of course, if the guy had said yes Kokichi wouldn't tell either the whore or Moogi because...you just don't. The slut would make gross comments- when doesn't she?- and Moogi would be fangirling too hard, and then both of them would definitely try to meet him and that was just a big NO. Telling DICE the truth was also off the list since they were going to disprove of it and fuck up the whole plan.

Nevertheless, Saihara said what? That he would think about it? _Think about it!_ Was his lie not good enough? That couldn't be, Kokichi could even be deemed the ultimate liar (he held himself to that standard) so that wasn't possible, there had to be another reason. Despite this, perhaps he should consider the fact that the whole ten-thousand member organization was a bit unbelievable, it had never worked before- not that those assholes back in high school cared about anything he said so, of course, they didn't even consider it. His roommate didn't either though, and she would normally play along with everyth- _No, not the time to think about her_.

Whatever, the detective would probably call him sooner or later- hopefully sooner though- I mean, even for someone who is god awful at catching lies it was easy to find a paper under your hand (a skill that Kokichi had acquired during his life while being a part of DICE was pickpocketing, sometimes they would go out to the streets and do it for fun, so he could move his hands pretty quickly without the person near him noticing.)

Kokichi stared at the bus stop, considering for a moment, before walking right past it- maybe walking home would give him some time to think and perhaps come up with an alternative. Or he could just drop it, the detective wasn't anything special either, he had told the truth back at the café: he was bored and needed a distraction. There's only so much that the analysis of the psyche of teenagers can do to cure it, boredom was a horrible disease and he was basically on his deathbed because of it.

His house was about a half-hour walk from Ranran’s café so he should have more than enough time to come up with a different way to entertain himself (even if the idea of spending some time with Saihara sounded appealing.) He shook his head at the thought, it was ridiculous anyway, the guy, A couldn't detect a lie and his reaction we're boring and B he was pretty boring himself. Just another typical ~~hot~~ celebrity with no personality other than ~~skillfully~~ solving a bunch of crimes.

He spent the rest of the walk home _not_ thinking about Saihara.

  
***

It had been a couple of days since the strange interaction and Shuichi still couldn't get Ouma out of his head, the phone number rested on top of his nightstand and one of the new plants was up against the wall in the corner of his room. According to the girl that helped him in the store (who happened to be a fan and that was an encounter that Shuichi was _not_ prepared for) , it was an Aspidistra Elatior, the new ~~roommate~~ plant wasn't too big and was easy to take care of so Shuichi wouldn't have to worry about accidentally killing it.

The detective got up from his desk, he had been looking at his emails again and picked up a murder to take his mind off of things (nothing was as satisfying as solving a case about the PSIA but anything works.) The victim was a magician, apparently, his apprentice had found the corpse when she came over for her usual lessons, the witness had been in such a state of shock that it was her girlfriend (who usually waited for her outside the apartment) the one that had to call the police. 

Yumeno Himiko was the apprentice, Shuichi had heard of her before since she was quite popular on the magic scene for her natural talent and how flawlessly she could perform before a huge audience, however, during the interview she was shaking and seemed like she was about to start crying at any minute now.

Shuichi had been sitting for a couple of hours now, this was mainly because his mind tended to drift away from his train of thought and jump over to Ouma again- what was it about this guy that had Shuichi so invested in that conversation? His brain had replayed the interaction one too many times for it to be normal and he wasn't about to call Kaede, because, what if she thought he was just exaggerating and overthinking again? (In her defence, he did have a tendency for doing so.)

Maybe...it was time to call him. So what if it was just a prank? The guy would laugh at him and then Shuichi would just block the number and that was it. On the other hand, if he was telling the truth then the detective could continue the case he so desperately wanted to (after finishing Yumeno’s first, that is.) He had decided he would call him.

 _Okay, just type the number of this stranger into your phone, introduce yourself and say that you accept the deal. Easy, nothing to worry about. Why am I shaking? This should be fine, calm down Shuichi. Breathe in, breathe out._ He took a couple of deep breaths as he approached his room, the white piece of paper seemed to mock him as he picked it up- _it isn't a big deal, I mean, the deal is big but not calling him. God, shut up and do it. Stop sweating! Dear God, why can't I call people like a normal person?_ Shuichi typed the number into his phone and saved it as _Ouma Kokichi_ and hesitated a bit as his finger hovered over the call button.

 _I just need a minute. No, if I don't do it now then I'll never do it._ He pressed it and held the phone close to his ear. _I'm doing this, calm down you don't want him to know that you are nervous._ As the phone rang he took a few more breaths and suddenly he heard it.

_“Hello? You have reached the president’s phone! Unfortunately, I don't have time for a boring person like you right now and I'm probably blowing up the nearest church. Don't worry though! I'll see if I can fit your non-important call into my busy schedule, ’kay?”_

Shuichi sighed, of course, he wouldn't be actually waiting for his call. If the octopus-haired man really was the leader of such a big he probably had more important things to do (though, the detective still doubted that it was true.)

_“Just kidding! Did I get ya mystery person? I'm tots not doing anything but if you're gonna murder me I'm free on Saturday, how does that sound?”_

Murder him? That's how he responded when someone called him? Did he get threatened often?- _not the time Shuichi, tell him who you are and get this over with._

“Ouma-kun? This is Saihara Shuichi _I'm in”_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I was really projecting onto Shuichi in this chapter, lol  
> Most of the anxious thoughts he had (and damn, were they a lot in this chapter) were written when I was feeling anxious so I think that’s why it came out this way.
> 
> I don’t know if anyone is getting confused with the DICE members? I try to refer to them by their code name whenever they aren’t being directly addressed because I think it’s easier than making you remember 9 extra names, but maybe I’m wrong. Feel free to tell me if it gets confusing!
> 
> Also, don’t know if you picked up on that little details but Kokichi’s sexuality is just my personal head canon (Sorry people who thinks he’s pan)  
> Was I the only person who googled pride flags when they were younger?
> 
> One last thing! (Cause this is getting too long) you should watch out for when Kokichi mentions his roommate it might come to play later (hint: angst) ;)
> 
> Have a good day/night everyone~!


	4. I’m one call away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi heads over to Shuichi’s place to do some...practising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why hello there *takes off my glasses seductively and spins on my black chair* long time no see, huh?
> 
> After like twenty days I bring to you: Kokichi is a kindergarten bully pt.1
> 
> Hope you enjoy, and again I’m sorry ;-;
> 
> (Tw: Mentions of murder & drug use (nothing graphic they are both just mentioned, but I’ll put it here just in case.))

_“Ouma-kun? This is Saihara Shuichi_ **_I'm in”_ **

Did Kokichi just hear that right? The detective was telling him that he would go along with his plan- _of course, he did, called it. It was bound to happen when you're in a situation like Mister Detective’s where you are pushed against a wall like that, you try to desperately find any way to escape._ _Wouldn't I know about that?_ _Shut up, not the time for self-pity._

“Excellent beloved! Should I send you my address or are you going to send me yours?” Now that he finally got step one out of the way it was time to move to the next part of the plan, actually acting as if they were dating. Ouma glanced at the notebook that sat on the coffee table (he had written several different ways of diverting DICE’s attention from the fact that he would be busier than usual, there were also a variety of things he could say if they questioned him about anything.)

 _“Why would you need my address?”_ \- _for a detective, he's kinda clueless._ While he was on the call with the other man, Kokichi searched through his apartment looking for a backpack (he normally kept it in his wardrobe but he had to take to DICE’s last heist so they would have extra space where to place the candy), he ended up finding it inside one of the top cabinets of his kitchen- _damn you, tall people. Why does Kai always have to put everything here? Is it just to make fun of my height? Seriously, one of these days I'm stealing his kneecaps._

“Well, we need to talk over the fine print of the deal somewhere, don't you think? And we can't do it through a call because who knows what kind of evil person might be listening in on our conversation! So, yeah, what's your address Saihara-chan?” Kokichi got onto his tiptoes so he could reach the bag and pulled it towards him, once he successfully retrieved the missing gear he placed it on top of the counter and walked to the fridge- _this guy definitely won't have any panta at his house so I'll have to bring my own. If we want this to work then he's gotta buy some._

“Oh, right. Give me a second.” He heard the detective rummaging around- _does he really don't know his address? Oh my God, and he's supposed to be a good detective? Just how bad is his memory?-_ “Here, do you want me to send it to you or do you want to write it down?”

“Text it to me. Don't wanna waste part of my memory on it, I have to use it to remember the name of every single one of my members, ya know?” Kokichi couldn't understand how such a simple lie had worked so well- _actually, that's a lie. I can totally believe it worked ’cause I'm the best liar there is-_ since no one had ever even considered the possibility of him having an organization of that sort (they weren't wrong not to trust him, though.)

“Okay. I hope you don't mind me asking, but how many members does this organization of yours have again?”- of course, a detective would be naturally curious, sooner or later he was bound to learn that Ouma had lied but that was part of the plan as well. It's not like he fabricated everything, with Jack’s help he should be able to stop the PSIA from finding out about the investigation.

“I actually do mind, but since you're being so kind to help me I guess you deserve to know. I have ten thousand members, Saihara-chan! And they are all extremely loyal to me so if you betray me then I'm sending them after you and let me tell you, they won’t hesitate to break a bone or two, nishishi.” The purple-haired man said as he opened the fridge and took out two bottles of his favourite soda. Phone on one hand and panta on the other, Kokichi went to the living room and dropped the beverage on top of the coffee table, then he walked back to the kitchen and brought the backpack as well.

“I-I see. But Ouma-kun, that seems like an organization far too big to be able to keep it a secret for too long. What exactly is the point of its existence?”- _He needs to stop talking, I can only spout so much bullshit until he starts getting even more suspicious. Time to do what I do best, change topics._ Kokichi pressed the phone against his shoulder and stuffed the bag with his sodas and notebook (he had bookmarked the page where he wrote down the plan, to stop himself from accidentally showing Saihara any of the upcoming DICE heists or vandalism he had planned.)

“Shush! You ask too many questions Saihara-chan, I'll answer them in due time. Now, your address, hand it over! You better not live too far away from me because if you do I'm going to be real mad at you for making me travel over there, got it?” He closed the bag and slipped it over his shoulders, the bright purple gave a nice accent to his otherwise monochrome clothes and he gave a small twirl in front of the mirror before looking for his keys.

“Huh?!” The purple-haired man had to contain his laughter at the detective’s reaction. “Wait, you're lying. Right, Ouma-kun? You aren't serious about that threat.”- _oh my god. Did he actually catch a lie? I’m so proud of him! He isn’t as much of a dumbass as I thought, there is still some hope for him left._ Kokichi did laugh at this comment (even if it was his fake “nishishi”) confirming Saihara’s conclusion. “You tend to lie a lot about your organisation Ouma-kun, I'm sorry if I don't believe everything you say right away.”

“You did fall for that, though, detective. You _really_ need to get better at knowing when a person is lying to you, there are probably over ten hundred bad guys who run around freely because you couldn't spot a simple lie!” Even if Saihara couldn't see him, Kokichi shook his head. “Lucky for you I am a top-notch liar myself, so I guess I can help you with that as well.” Ouma found his keys inside the pocket of a jacket, so he grabbed them and headed back to the door.

“Thank you so much for your kindness, Ouma-kun” Saihara played along- _huh, okay. You get_ **_one_ ** _interesting point Saihara-chan, you're gonna need more than that though._ “I've already sent you my address, I hope it's not too far away.” As the detective said it, Kokichi got a notification on his phone from a random number with an address, before looking at the information inside of the message he saved the contact as _My Prince_ as a joke towards DICE (He was certainly going to change it later, he couldn't his friends finding out because of such a stupid mistake.)

“I'm so glad you told me Saihara-chan! if you didn't I would have thought these coordinates were from someone trying to kidnap me!” He placed them on the Map application and got the directions, it was just twenty minutes away (if he travelled via the bus again, like always did) so he should be fine- thankfully it seemed like Saihara didn't remember that Kokichi was Miss Piano’s neighbour and the purple-haired man wasn't planning on telling him anytime soon.

“Sure, Ouma-kun, could you please text me or knock when you arrive? That way I can open the door for you, the doorbell gives me a headache sometimes.”- _so it does, huh?_ Kokichi smirked at the information- What? He was an asshole to people he didn't know, what are you gonna do about it?

“Of course, I'll see you soon then, my beloved!” Kokichi said and hung up. He placed the phone in his pocket and opened the front door- this was bound to be interesting, maybe toying with the detective was a bad thing to do but Ouma didn't lie about everything! Knowing that Saihara was there to help him cover DICE’s tracks gave him a sense of security after all the last thing he wanted was for a member of his family to go to jail..again.

Kokichi shoved that thought to the back of his head- DICE was going to be fine! You know why? Because they have the best leader ever who just got them protection from the police force, so they could keep going out on weekends and everyone would still be happy. Yeah! With a smile on his face, Ouma left the apartment and started walking over to the bus spot.

***

“ _Of course, I'll see you soon then, my beloved!”_ screamed the voice from his speaker before the call ended- _Beloved? Why did he call me that? We met five days ago._ Shuichi sighed and went to make himself another cup of coffee, did Ouma really need to meet up right now? At least he would be able to work in his case when the other left (he couldn't remember a case where he didn't spend an entire night working and saw the sun rising from his window, even when he was still a teenager.)

Shuichi dragged himself to the kitchen and turned on the coffee machine, for some reason he had the hunch that Ouma was going to being the doorbell even though he told the octopus-haired man not to (you didn't need to know Ouma for a long time to be able to tell that he liked annoying the people around him)- was he really the only option? He was the ( _alleged)_ leader of an enormous organisation, so why did he come to Saihara directly instead of sending someone else? The man did mention the fact that he was bored and looking for a source of entertainment, but was that a good enough reason to compromise himself in this way? Shuichi could call Kaori right now and expose Ouma if he wanted to, he hadn't picked up the investigation just yet since he didn't have the files, therefore, he wouldn't put himself in danger by doing so-

“Ah- Shit!” His train of thought was broken by the feeling of something burning his leg, he jerked back slightly and looked at the coffee machine. The device was turned on and leaking, he had been so focused on Ouma that he had forgotten to put his mug under it and the liquid had fallen to the floor- _Crap! Dammit Ouma, why can't you leave me alone for a second?_ The detective turned off the machine and grabbed a rag to clean up the mess that was his kitchen counter (thankfully, that task was easy enough since most of the coffee had fallen to the floor.) Then he kneeled and started drying the ground as well, he had to stand up and dry the cloth a few times before he was done.

Once the kitchen was tidy again the next step was changing his pants since the ones he was wearing were covered in coffee around the edges. So, he started making his way to the bedroom after leaving the rag on the sink to clean it later, and that's when the doorbell rang- _perfect, just what I needed and he also rang the doorbell. What am I going to do now? I have to open the door to let him in but I can't if my jeans are burning my leg._ The doorbell rang again. Deciding on a whim Shuichi went to the front door and opened it, finding Ouma on the other side, smiling innocently.

“Good morning Saihara-chan! Oh man, you look like _shit_ what happened? Did someone come into your house and place a bomb that you had to deactivate, or did I stop you from doing that and now we are both going to die? You know my organization won't take it very kindly when they hear that you are the reason I'm dead.” The octopus-haired man said and pushed past Shuichi and into his apartment- _what? Do I look that bad? I should have guessed that he would notice, I need to change._ “So, Saihara-chan, are you ready?”

“Actually, Ouma-kun, I have to go and change, would you mind waiting? It won't take very long I promise.” Ouma had made himself comfortable on the couch and pulled out a bottle of..panta- if Shuichi was reading the label correctly, it seemed to be grape flavoured as well- from his backpack. The detective turned around to shut the door and lock it again.

“Not at all Saihara-chan, take your time. I mean, I'm only the person who will get you out of all the trouble you're in, you shouldn't even worry about Lil’ old me.” Ouma said dismissively- _yeah I noticed, I don't have to worry at all. God, if the doorbell didn't give me a headache he is bound to._ Despite his worries, Shuichi headed to the bedroom and closed the door- he could only hope that Ouma didn't mess with everything in his apartment.

Before long, he was back in the living room and walked in on Ouma (unsurprisingly) inspecting the items within it, specifically his potted plants. “Oh, hey Saihara-chan, that was fast.” The octopus-haired man skipped back to the couch and sat down. “Are you just gonna stand there? It's not like I mind, more room for me, though.” The detective got the message and hurried to sit beside Ouma. “So, I have a couple of things to say. One, your apartment is _so_ boring Saihara-chan! I mean, do your plants even have names? They gotta have them, if they don't can I name them?” The smaller man leaned forward, invading Shuichi’s personal space once again (when doesn't he?)- his actions reminded the raven-haired man of a child. “Second, I have already planned our first date-”

“Wait, what?!” The detective stopped him and got an annoyed look from Ouma. “Sorry.” He took a breath “What I meant was, why do we have to do it so soon? You did say that the reason you came over was to discuss the details of our deal.” The octopus-haired man shook his head disapprovingly as he took out a purple notebook from his backpack (Shuichi noted that the colour resembled his hair quite a bit.)

“Silly Saihara-chan, this is one of the details. We need to know how we are going to make the public believe that we are dating, I mean, have you ever even gone on a date? You do look like an emo virgin.” The detective’s face flush at the statement. Even if Ouma did mutter the last part, Shuichi was sure that he wanted the other man to hear him. “Also, you never answered my question. Do your plants have names? because I'm incredible at naming things, so I could help with that.”

“I-I’m not a virgin and no, they don't have names.” The octopus-haired man smirked at Shuichi’s reaction and raised an eyebrow. “W-What? I'm telling the truth.”- it was honestly weird for Ouma to be questioning something like this. Yes, Shuichi had dated one or two people in the past and gone all the way with one of them, he just hadn't dated any men (despite knowing he was bisexual from a young age, he didn't come out to everyone in his life until recently.)

“Really, Saihara-chan? Who doesn't name their pets? I can't believe it, I'm so disappointed in you right now.” The detective stared at the man beside him dumbfounded- _did_ _he just do that? Of course, he was playing with me, why do I take anything he says seriously anymore?_ “If you’re not going to do it then someone has to! Leave it to me, I'm the best person for the job.” Ouma looked at him and tilted his head. “What? Do you think I care if you're a virgin or not? We are just pretending to be together I didn't ask you to fuck with me so I don't see why I would care.” The man stood up (notebook still in hand) and walked towards the nearest plant.

 _I should have known he wouldn't care about that, geez Shuichi not everything is about you. Wait, is he really going to name my plants? It seems unnecessary, even if they are leaving things they aren't the equivalent of a dog or any actual pet. God, what have I gotten myself into?_ “Ouma-kun weren't we going to talk about the date?” The detective stood up and followed the octopus-haired man, who was running around the room and scribbling things onto the journal (again.)

“Oh? Is Saihara-chan asking me out?! Kyaa~! I've been waiting for this for so long. Yes, Saihara-chan, I would love to go on a date with you.” Ouma jumped up and threw his arms around Shuichi’s neck, bringing their faces close together- how many times was this man going to destroy his personal space? Shuichi didn't know, but he was sure that it wouldn't stop any time soon. Ouma’s face soon morphed into boredom “Geez, don't look so stiff, that way we won't be able to even trick your plants into believing that we are dating. Loosen up, detective.” The raven-haired man could tell the other was right, it was just that he wasn't comfortable with someone he met recently touching him in any way. And then it got _worse_. Kokichi grabbed the detective's arms (which were tightly pressing against his sides) and gently placed them on his waist. “There. Now you know how you're supposed to hold me in public.”

If someone walked in on them, then that person would probably assume that the pair was about to kiss- it wouldn't take a lot to do so really, Shuichi just had to lean in and connect their lips. But he sure as hell wasn't about to do that. “You don't need to tell me how to do this Ouma-kun, I've been in a relationship before. Can we discuss that date you planned now?” He quickly removed his hands from the other’s waist and Ouma- either getting the message from Shuichi’s tone or bored at the other reaction- did so as well.

“Yep,” Ouma said, as he detached himself from Shuichi-the detective noticed that the octopus-haired man had a habit of popping the Ps whenever he said words of that sort- “we are going tomorrow night to the town fair!” Ouma’s eyes lit up as he spoke. “It’s a public place where a lot of people are going to be and if anyone asks we just have to say that we are dating. Though we need to work on your acting skills, Saihara-chan or you're going to give us away _very_ easily.” The purple-haired man was probably exaggerating, Shuichi was pretty decent at it ( or least he liked to think that)- since Shuichi’s parents were both part of the movie-making industry he had learned to act at a young age, sometimes filling the roles of extra in some of their movies, therefore his skills shouldn't need _that_ much polishing. “First things first, we need _pet names,_ ’cause if we were a couple then we wouldn't call each other “Saihara-chan and Ouma-kun”, ya know? So, I was thinking I could call you Shushu or Shu for short and also beloved, of course”- _is that why he called me beloved earlier? I don't really mind the pet names, they aren't that bad._ “What about you? I'm super cute so you should have no problem finding something that suits me” He winked.

“Ko..? I don't know, I'm sorry, I don't usually use pet names. But I guess that babe and love always work too.” Shuichi shrugged- even in his past relationships he didn't regularly call his girlfriend anything other than their names, so he wasn't an expert in this subject (he wasn't even close to being one.) Ouma stared at him unimpressed “I told you I'm not good at this, it isn't like “Shu” is too creative either.”

The octopus-haired man gasped “How _dare_ you?! Do you know how much time I spent thinking about it?! Fine, I can see that my work isn't appreciated here so I'll just leave. Have a good day, detective.” He turned around and started walking towards the door- _he can't possibly be leaving for something like this, right? No, he isn't, he's most likely doing it to get a reaction from me since he hasn't picked up his backpack yet. But I still need to stop him, without him then I won't be able to continue with my investigation if he is telling the truth, that is. I find it hard to believe that he runs such a big organisation._ “You're not going to say anything? Wow, Saihara-chan, you must really want me to leave. You're so mean!”- _oh, no._

“No, wait, Ouma-kun. I swear I didn't mean it like that, I tend to space out sometimes and forget my surroundings. I'm sorry, please don't leave.” Ouma’s hurt expression quickly changed into a smirk- _well, there goes the last of my dignity._ The octopus-haired man turned around again to look directly at Shuichi.

“Well, if you're going to ask so kindly then I guess I can stay. But we have to work on the pet name you are going to give me, “Ko” is off-limits, exclusive for family members only.” He dropped on the couch once again, right next to his bag. “Come on, sit down Saihara-chan we are going to improve your crappy acting skills.”- _how can he say things like that with such a smile? He looks like a kindergarten bully._ Shuichi complied and sat beside him. “Okay, this is the scene” He cleared his throat, “We are at the top of the Ferris wheel, in the middle of the night, and we are reaching the end of our date. How do you start the conversation?” Ouma looked at the detective expectantly.

“Ah...the view is beautiful from up here” Shuichi started- he was trying pretty hard to picture this scenario, it was just difficult if the person that he was talking to was Ouma.

“Yeah, it is!” The man next to him exclaimed and moved a little closer to Shuichi. “Is that the only beautiful thing? Or..is there something else?” Ouma might have said that the detective was bad at acting, but he could catch a hint when it was thrown directly at his face- _so he wants me to say that he's beautiful too, right? I can do that. Just, call a guy you barely know beautiful, that's..fine._

“Y-You look incredible as well.” Shuichi looked at the floor, too embarrassed to maintain eye contact. Regardless of that, he could feel the octopus-haired man looking at him and then he felt a hand on top of his. This made him look up, but he was met with Ouma looking sideways this time.

“Thank you” he mumbled- Shuichi had to admit that the man was an amazing actor, this was all a performance, of course, yet the detective knew that to someone who wasn't aware of this information Ouma might have seemed like he actually got sheepish at the comment. “You aren't too shabby yourself, Shu.” Ouma giggled a little (Shuichi noted how it resembled the other laugh a little, so it must have been fake.) The octopus-haired man tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, “Thanks for bringing me here, Shu.”- this was his cue.

“You're welcome, I've been meaning to do so for a while now.” Ouma turned his head and their eyes met- Shuichi saw something flicker through the other’s eye before it disappeared. “I'm glad you said yes, Kichi.” The nickname felt weird in his tongue, probably due to it being foreign yet it didn't seem wrong just...strange.

And suddenly Ouma’s whole facade broke and he started laughing (it sounded a lot nicer than his usual horse-like one.) “Damn, Saihara-chan, you were really giving it your all, weren't you? What's next are you going to declare your undying love to me, ’cause I would love to hear that, go ahead.” He said and Shuichi could feel, not only his face but his ears burning as well. “Come on, I didn't upset you, did I? I mean, you are a better actor than you look like at least and the pet name is alright.” His smirk never left his face.

“Fine. Do we have to keep doing this or are we done?” Shuichi replied and quickly took his hand away from Ouma’s- even if he didn't want to admit it, the man _did_ upset him. After all, it was his idea to practice and then he went and made fun of the detective for doing what he was supposed to do! To say that he was embarrassed by the other’s reaction was an understatement.

“Nope, we still have to rehearse a couple more times and create a story about how we met and everything.” Ouma grabbed the notebook and opened it, the page had a checklist on it (though, Shuichi wasn't close enough to read each item.) The raven-haired man felt a finger poking his cheek “Hey, Saihara-chan, you aren't actually mad at me, are you? It was just a joke, you don't have to be such a baby about it, nishishi.”- _looks like I was right, he is the equivalent of a kindergarten bully._

“No, I'm not angry at you Ouma-kun, it's nothing.” The detective dismissed the subject “I thought we could tell the truth about how we met, though, since meeting at Amami-kun’s café wouldn't be odd because I frequent it.” Ouma rolled his eyes and flipped the page in his notebook. Shuichi sighed “I don't know what you want me to say Ouma-kun, you clearly have some ideas so why don't we go with those?”

“Because it's more fun if you help me, Saihara-chan! Why would I even come here if I wasn't looking for your input? We can go with your boring idea of meeting at Ranran’s café ’cause he saw me there, so he would be able to tell that's a lie, but we need to spice it up! Now, hear this” He cleared his throat- Shuichi assumed that it was to cause some sort of dramatic effect since he seemed like the type to do that. “You were sitting at my usual spot so I, being the stubborn person I am, decided to sit down despite you being there already. When you noticed this you tried to get me to go away but I wouldn't so, in the end, you gave in and let me sit at the table with you where we started casually talking and I ended up giving you my number. A couple of days later you texted me and ever since we have been texting every day, you asked me out sometime later and we went on two or three dates before you asked me out and I said yes. We have been dating for a week tops, though.” Ouma finished- _he planned everything. Honestly, why am I even here?_ “Whatcha think? It's perfect, isn't it?” He beamed but it quickly disappeared “That's a lie though, I know it has some plot holes but whatevs” He shrugged “we can work on them later.”

“Yeah, it's fine by me. You're actually pretty good at this, Ouma-kun.” Shuichi saw Ouma pull another bottle of panta from his bag and take a swing (he had finished the first one incredibly fast.) “So, you said we needed to rehearse more? I think we should continue working on that then.” He suggested- hopefully, he wouldn't be mocked every single time.

***

The pair was currently inside of the kitchen, they had been discussing and practising for the better part of two hours now and Ouma ended up complaining about Shuichi’s lack of snacks, so he opted for making himself some (the detective was surprised, Ouma didn't seem the type to cook yet when he observed him move around the kitchen it was as if this was the octopus-haired man’s home.) They were both waiting for the cookies to finish cooking, Ouma sat on top of the counter and Shuichi stood not too far away.

“You don't understand Saihara-chan, the problem is that you need to be more assertive, seriously you can barely hold my hand.” Ouma criticised- _thank God he isn't a movie director that I'm working for or anything, I don't think I would stand it._ “Stop being such a pussy, it isn't that big of a deal. Are you scared of physical contact or something?” The octopus-haired man asked with a smirk. Shuichi watched as Ouma’s hair bounced with him when he jumped slightly from the sudden noise of the oven.

He hopped off the counter and opened the door, putting on the gloves and removing the metal tray. That's when an idea hit the detective- yes, it could end up being an extremely awkward situation but if this was what Ouma wanted then he was going to do it. _Here goes nothing. I'll just pray that he doesn't laugh..._ **_again_ ** _._ As the short man swayed his way over to the fridge to grab an ingredient that he hadn't told Shuichi, the raven-haired man came from behind and placed a hand next to his head, successfully pinning him in between the wall and his arm.

“Uh..what do you think you're doing, Saihara-chan?” The octopus-haired man said after he took a carton of milk from the fridge. “Let me guess, is this your attempt at being bolder? Sorry to break it to you, Mister detective, but you usually pin someone against the wall, not a fridge ’cause I could easily open the door and make this a lot more difficult for you and I probably will. Or not, who knows?”- _this is weird, he's rambling. Is he..nervous?_

“Ouma-kun, am I making you uncomfortable in any way?” Shuichi asked, keeping his arm where it was- some may have dimmed it a bit cruel to experiment with someone’s boundaries in this way instead of only asking, yet Shuichi couldn't help but be curious about Ouma and he knew that if he just tried to ask then he would never get a truthful answer.

“No, why would you Saihara-chan? Though this is _pretty_ dumb, I mean, are you going to just start pinning me against things wherever we are? Because that's a bit weird if I do say so myself and I wouldn't want you getting into a type of situation where people might judge you, ya know? But that's a lie! I love seeing Saihara-chan embarrassed, it's so funny.” Ouma kept talking. The man wasn't talking significantly more than usual neither did the speed in which he did so change, perhaps that was one of the many advantages of having his natural abilities as a detective, Shuichi had always been able to read people extremely well and he could tell that (despite the man in front of him being an outstanding actor and very good at hiding his emotions) Ouma was nervous.

“Ouma-kun, you can tell me if I'm making you uneasy, I have no place to judge. Is it the proximity or the fact that you can't leave?” Shuichi probed in his detective-like nature and removed his arm (Ouma seemed more relaxed after he did it.) The octopus-haired man walked past him and placed the milk on one of the kitchen counters, opening the cupboard to take out a glass.

“Hmmm, no can do, Saihara-chan. You gotta reach friendship level ten if you want to unlock my dark past!” The man said as he looked around for a cup- _dark past? Has Ouma-kun been through hardship during his life? Everyone does at one point but the fact that me pinning him against the fridge made him uncomfortable means that he must have experienced something that relates to it in some way or another. Maybe I'm just exaggerating and he's merely claustrophobic. That's probably it. Hopefully_. He watched as Ouma got on his tiptoes to reach the cabinet. Once he had the glass in his hand he turned around and tilted his head to the side. “You don't make me nervous, though, Saihara-chan, I just thought it was weird. An emo detective like yourself certainly doesn't seem like the type to do that kind of thing, that's all. Why? Did you actually think there was some kind of deeper meaning to it?” The octopus-haired man let out a soft (and obviously fake) laugh.

“I'm sorry for assuming, Ouma-kun. But I'll keep in mind not to do it again since it's like you said, I'm not going to do that in public places so there is no reason for me to do so when we are alone.” Shuichi told him and walked up to where he was pouring milk in two glasses (he took the second one from the cabinet as the detective spoke.) Ouma picked up a couple of cookies from the tray and placed them in one of the plates, specifically the one closer to Shuichi. The man smiled at the gesture, “Thank you, Ouma-ku-” and then Ouma snatched it and went back to the living room, a pleased smirk on his face- _why aren't I surprised?_

Since the octopus-haired man hadn't bothered on separating cookies for Shuichi, the detective did it himself. He put two on his plate and grabbed a third one, which he ate on the way to the living room- _they are pretty good, I wonder if Ouma-kun can cook other food. Maybe I can ask him to teach me, he is certainly the better cook I know, then again I don't have a lot to compare him to...except maybe aunt Helen._ When he sat down on the couch next to Ouma, the man didn't even acknowledge him, he was aggressively scribbling something on his notebook. “Ouma-kun?” The Ouma’s head shot up when he heard Shuichi. “Is there anything else we need to do or are we done for the day? I have a case I need to work on.” At that moment he knew, he should have kept his mouth shut.

“Uh~ A case you say, Saihara-chan? Can I help, can I?” The purple mop of hair bounced up and down with its owner- how could Shuichi now compare him to a child when he behaved like this? “It will be so _cool,_ we can be a detective duo! You're Sherlock and I'll be your Watson. Come on, let me help.” The detective had to move back to avoid being near Ouma’s face, if he had to teach Shuichi how to be a better actor, then he should be able to teach this purple ball of chaotic childish energy what the words _personal_ _space_ meant.

“Ouma-kun, I'm sorry, but I can't. Especially not in the middle of it and without telling my client.” Ouma stared at him with big puppy dog eyes (yet again did Shuichi see that something seemed slightly off about his right eye, it was even more obvious from up close.) The detective sighed, he was weak and he knew it- not for Ouma, of course, just in general. He was certainly easy to persuade. Shuichi took a second to look at the pros and cons and finally gave in. “Fine. I can let you look at the pictures and information this once, maybe a new pair of eyes can help me. My office is this way.” Shuichi stood up and started walking to said room, the other man following close behind.

“You know, I didn't expect anything fancy since the rest of your house is so boring but _geez,_ Saihara-chan, can't you have some colour where you live? You don't need to be as much of a dull emo on the outside as you are on the inside.” Ouma skipped past him and directly towards the whiteboard in the back (he had removed every piece of evidence or potential clues from the PSIA case a couple of days ago and it was replaced with pictures and information about the new case.) “Yuck! They got him good, this is why I never let members of my organisation kill people, it's so messy and gross. [ If I ever have to kill someone then I would probably get a murder to do it for me.”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26654239) The octopus-haired man said as he inspected the picture of the corpse.

“Ouma-kun, you shouldn't say stuff like that! Hopefully, you'll never have to kill anyone.”- _and apparently he doesn't allow the members of his organization to do either, he must be a pacifist. Then why all the death threats? Even if they were jokes they still referred to his followers murdering me._ “That man is Akechi Gaido, he was a famous magician until his apprentice found him dead in his own apartment. The only people who had the key were his girlfriend, his brother and Akechi himself. I know that both of the people who had a copy of the key are suspects and from the two I believe his girlfriend is more likely, it was later found out that she cheated on him, so that could have played a part in it. Ouma-kun?” Shuichi looked at Ouma, who had now moved to the desk and was rummaging around the papers.

“Huh. So basically paranoia? What, was she on drugs or something? Seems kinda sus to suddenly become so paranoid of your partner cheating on you, because you are doing it, that you end up killing him. Maybe you should get a blood sample, Saihara-chan. You know, I've encountered a lot of dealers in my time as the leader of such a big organisation, especially at the beginning when we didn't have a base! This one time a guy tried to stab me, but luckily one of my subordinates fought him off.”- _is that true? I'm still sceptical of everything he says but it is a possibility that he might have happened to come upon dealers in his daily life, there is an alarming number of them. Though his theory about drug use could be useful, I would need to ask her for a blood sample and then head over to the police station to ask them to test it._

“You might be right, Ouma-kun. Several drugs can lead to someone suddenly becoming paranoid. Thank you.” Shuichi smiled at the other man- as obnoxious as he was, the detective couldn't deny that Ouma was smart, perhaps even smarter than he lets on.

“Any time, Saihara-chan! As your new partner, I’ll always be there for you when you need me. Unless it's past one am, ’cause if you call me at that hour I'm just going to yell at you to go to sleep.” Ouma smiled back. “Welp, I gotta get going, Saihara-chan. I think you're good for our date on Friday and you better wear something appropriate.” The octopus-haired man dropped the documents back on the pile and walked to the door to leave the office, Shuichi excited the room as well to go and open the front door.

“Yeah, I know. Again, thank you Ouma-kun. For everything, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, then.” The detective said as the small man stuffed his notebook inside of his backpack and put it around his shoulders. “At what hour is it exactly, Ouma-kun?” Ouma looked up, finishing the cookie he had stolen from Shuichi’s forgotten plate.

“Five pm! I'll send you my address later so you can come and pick me up and you better not be late, Saihara-chan, ’cause it ends at nine and I want to be able to play _all_ the games, got that?” Ouma replied as he walked to the door (his hair bounced up and down, some locks more than others.) “Oh, also, there's going to be a small surprise at the end, so we are going to have to stay. You don't have a say on it, Saihara-chan!” The octopus-haired man placed a finger in front of Shuichi’s lips.

“Uh..okay, Ouma-kun. I don't have anything else planned for tomorrow so there shouldn't be an issue with me staying until nine, maybe some fresh air would be good for me. I'll go pick you up.” Shuichi said- _is he like this with his followers? He must be very persuasive because I wouldn't be able to stand being treated like this all the time, especially by my boss._ Seemingly pleased with the response, Ouma removed his finger and began rocking his feet.

“Mhm. Sounds good, now you gotta keep your word, Saihara-chan. Or I'll send my organisation after you~!” The man’s voice was far too sweet for what he said. “Anyway, farewell my beloved. I'll see you tomorrow.” He said and left the apartment as soon as Shuichi opened the front door. The sound of his footsteps resonated throughout the hall as the detective watched him leave, then he shut the door and locked it.

_So I'm going on a date with Ouma-kun, even if it's fake this will certainly be...interesting._

  
***

If you walked past Kokichi at that moment then you would have probably thought that he was alright, however, internally he was pretty much screaming. How the _fuck_ had Saihara even noticed? He was always able to hide his emotions perfectly, then why did this stupid fucking detective see it? God, he wasn't wrong either. Being trapped between Saihara’s arm and the wall made him incredibly uncomfortable, it reminded him of what happened with Chi- _No, I am not doing this now. Fuck. I need to call Michi, maybe I can ask them for the files while I'm at it. Okay, think about something else. Breath._

Kokichi sped up, he needed to get home, being in the street like this made him feel exposed. All he had to do was keep the facade up until he got back to his apartment, then he would allow himself to relax. Maybe he could just make a cake, yeah, Ace liked chocolate cakes so it would be nice to have one ready for the weekend. What a good leader he was!

He was near Ace’s flower shop, wasn't he? Perhaps he could stop and say hi or- _nope, bad idea, Nah ah, no way Jose. She’ll take one look at me and won't let me go, she’ll probably call Mom as well. I'll just stick to Michi and kill two birds with one stone, though, you wouldn't be able to do that in real life, now would you? Focus, get to the bus stop and get home._

Before he knew it, Kokichi was on the stop and waiting for a bus. He looked sideways but didn't see anything, so he pulled out his phone and started mindlessly playing some game on it to distract himself- it was actually quite fun, he got to murder people some time and frame the crime on another person. The bus arrived and the purple-haired man quickly put his phone back inside of his pocket as he heard the loud _honk_ coming from the vehicle. He stepped into the bus with a sweet smile (that most likely creeped out the bus driver, nobody really smiles at them like that) and sat down alone in the back.

_This will be easy, I just need to control my fucking emotions and not let Saihara-chan do something like this again. Yeah, the date should go alright._

_Let's just wish Michi can help me with all this shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, that was something. It sounds like Kokichi’s been through something.
> 
> I legit don't know why my brain kept drawing the comparison between Kokichi and a kindergarten bully but here we are.
> 
> I'm really excited to write the next chapter! And yes, I know that in Japan fairs don't exist (they have festivals) but let me have a little fun, okay? ;)
> 
> Bonus points if you get why I chose Akechi Gaido as the name for Himiko’s mentor.
> 
> Anyway, have a great day/night everyone~!  
> (also shoutout to Sharon, now you know why I needed those names)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Date” time
> 
> Yeah, that's all you get

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sure most of you don't read my chat fic so in the notes, at the end of this chapter, I'm going to explain a bit why this took so long (don't worry, you obviously don't have to read it if you don't want to.)
> 
> I attempted to make this a bit more awkward because I like to make people suffer but I just couldn't do it, so don't worry about it.
> 
> Edit: Forgot to mention, thank you for over 1200 hits! :D
> 
> Without further ado, here is the chapter:  
> (also I didn't really check this, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes.)

_ Why am I doing this? _

The detective looked at himself in the mirror. This was stupid, so, so stupid, yet there was nothing else he could do, now was there? It was currently twenty minutes past four, which meant that he still had forty minutes to kill before picking up Ouma- in a metaphorical way, of course, Shuichi would never murder anybody.

He glanced at the mirror again before moving to the living room. His outfit wasn't anything fancy, just a long-sleeve button-up shirt, some jeans and black shoes- he was going to wear a sweater as well but it was too hot inside the apartment, so he decided to put it on once he left. The detective wasn't too sure if this was appropriate, he hadn't been on a date for quite some time.

As Shuichi stared at his phone he could hear the muffled sound of keys, he wondered if it was perhaps his neighbour but it didn't seem likely..it was coming from his door. His breath got caught up in his throat but he tried his best not to panic, this obviously wasn't a burglar since they don't usually use a replica of the key from the house they are going to rob, so it had to be someone who he had given a copy of it-  _ okay, so this has to be Kaito. He's the only person who it could be. _

Just as he predicted, the astronaut in training opened the door. “Sidekick! I was hoping to find you here.” The man closed the door behind him- Shuichi had given him a copy of the key to his apartment since they had shared it for about two months earlier that year. Kaito’s landlord wanted to sell the apartment he was living in at the time and the astronaut asked Shuichi for a place to stay temporarily until he found another one (in the end he moved in with Maki.) “What's with the clothes? There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that you don't usually dress-up to stay inside.”

“Hi Kaito, I..uh..actually have a date today.” The detective managed to say-  _ Very convincing Shuichi. _ He had to remind himself that it was all faked, it was all necessary. The purple-haired man stared at him in disbelief for a moment before breaking into a high grin.

“Dude! I knew you could do it.” His best friend yelled and put his arms around Shuichi’s shoulders, “Who's the lucky person?” The detective was glad he didn't say  _ girl _ , it would have been awkward to explain that it was actually a boy- Maybe not so much though, Kaito had been one of the most supportive people once he came out, despite having old-fashioned grandparents who taught him their values.

“His name is Ou-Kokichi, Ouma Kokichi. We met at Amami-kun’s café a couple of weeks ago and I-I like him, so I asked him to go on a date with me today.”-  _ Very believable.  _ Shuichi was dying inside. He wanted someone to pull him out of that situation because Kaito was bound to ask questions and he didn't have the sanity to do that and then deal with Ouma.

“I'm so proud of you, bro. Are you planning on inviting him to Kaede’s concert? She's gonna be over the moon when she hears about this.” The astronaut chuckled- Shuichi always loved moments like this, just chatting with his best friend as if they were still kids in high school. He didn't get to do it as often nowadays.

“I’ll have to ask him, but I'm not sure if he would like to make the..relationship public because of the fans and everything. We're going to the fair that came to town...I hope there aren't many people.” Even if it was good for the plan, he wasn't feeling too up to being recognised- when was he? Remembering that he didn't have that much time until he had to pick up Ouma, Shuichi pulled out his phone and checked the time.  _ 4:40  _ and it was at least a fifteen-minute ride to Ouma’s house-  _ fuck.  _ “Sorry, Kaito I- I have to go, I need to go and pick him up. We can keep talking another time, okay? I'll see you later, please lock the door when you leave.”

The detective got up and grabbed the sweater from the armrest. “Oh, shit. Sure, dude, I didn't mean to keep you from your date. Go get your man, I'll lock the door.” Kaito reassured his friend, Shuichi shot him a nervous smile and returned and opened the door.

Only once was he inside the car did he realise-  _ I never asked him why he was in my apartment in the first place. _

***

Kokichi paced around his room. The call with Jack had ended about an hour ago but his brain wouldn't shut up and it was getting annoying. The conversation went as follows: 

Kokichi asked Jack for a favour and they in return asked what it was for, so Kokichi- being the person that he was- gave some bullshit excuse that Jack clearly didn't buy. So they pressed on for the real reason, saying that if Kokichi wasn't going to tell them then they wouldn't do it- they liked to call Kokichi a child, but Jack could be quite childish as well. In the end, the leader gave in, telling them about the whole plan he had- Kokichi trusted Jack with his life, so he was sure they weren't going to reveal everything to the rest of DICE if he asked them not to.

Of course, Jack called him an idiot and scolded him in all of their big-sibling fashion but accepted to try and get the documents whenever they could- “Just so you know, they won't be the original, I can probably get my hands on them and make copies but they are going to notice if I take the real ones. Ask your prince if that's alright, got it?”- Kokichi promised to do so (Spoilers: he wasn't going to.)

TL;DR: He got the documents, therefore he got the detective’s protection-  _ duh, of course, I did. I'm Ouma Kokichi after all, some silly organisation like the PSIA can't stop me.  _ He smirked at himself.

Now, it was time to get ready for his date.

***

When he finally parked his car, Shuichi was surprised to see Kaede’s apartment complex there as well-  _ are Ouma-kun and Kaede neighbours, or does he just live close by?  _ He took his phone out of his pocket to check and yes, Ouma lived right in front of the pianist-  _ huh. _

And then it hit him.

**Ouma was Kaede’s neighbour.**

**The** neighbour who waved at him that one time. The same hairstyle, hair colour, pretty short. It checked out- _how didn't I notice sooner?! It's probably because I try to forget awkward interactions with fans, but how could I forget this?_ Maybe panicking on the sidewalk wasn't a good idea, but Shuichi had just been slapped in the face with this realisation and he didn't know what to do- _what if Ouma had followed me home?! Wait, no, Shuichi you have to think logically he asked for your address that means he didn't have it. Take a deep breath, this is fine. So, what if you met once before? It doesn't mean anything. Yeah, yeah._

Once he was calm again, Shuichi finally locked his car and crossed the street to the building. For some reason despite having the number of Ouma’s apartment (floor 8, apartment D), the detective had a feeling that the other man wouldn't let him in, so he decided to call him. Unlocking his phone and quickly looking for the contact  _ ‘Ouma Kokichi.’  _ The phone rang a couple of times before the owner answered.

_ “Hello~ How is my favourite detective doing? Hope you’re calling to tell me that you’re downstairs ‘cause I’m ready to go.”  _ Ouma said cheerfully- he seemed quite excited to go, but Shuichi concluded that he was either happy to get out of his house or faking it, there was no way that Ouma would actually be that thrilled to see  _ him. _

“Uh, yeah, I'm waiting for you, I didn't know if you wanted me to ring the doorbell or not so I called you. I hope it doesn't bother you.” Shuichi cringed at the nervousness in his voice, he didn't want to sound like that yet he couldn't stop it. “I’ll be waiting downstairs.”

“Okie-Dokie mister detective, I'll come down right away. Though you could have just rung, ya know? I was in the middle of a call with one of my followers and had to hang up on them because of you.” Shuichi got ready to apologize before he was cut by Ouma’s (fake) giggling. “Nishishi, just kidding! I wasn't really talking to anyone, I was just waiting for you, don't get so nervous, Saihara-chan. See you in a bit.” Ouma hung up and Shuichi pocketed his phone again, waiting for the octopus-haired man to come down.

Maybe a minute later, the detective saw Ouma through the glass door of the building. In all honesty, Shuichi thought that he looked….kinda cute- and then that though got immediately squashed when Ouma started talking.

“Is button-up shirts all you wear, Saihara-chan? Like, I get it, you look good in them but they can get  _ so  _ boring when that's all you wear, ya know?” The shorter man stated as he opened the door (his hair was up in a messy low ponytail, Shuichi noted, which made it bounce less than before.) The detective sputtered something about being used to them but was sure that the other man wasn't able to hear him. 

Ouma wore a white shirt, the bottom part of it tucked inside of his high-waisted shorts. Chucky white and purple shoes which made him perhaps one or two inches taller than he actually was, and knee-high socks covered his legs. Lastly, he wore the same obnoxiously purple jacket he had the first time they met (it slid down from one of his shoulders as he locked the door and Shuichi had the impulse to push it back to its original place.)

“Y-You look..really nice Ouma-kun. Is that the same jacket you wore at Amami-kun’s café?” The detective said and the man stared at him unimpressed.

“Really, Saihara-chan? Geez, you're bad at this. At least we practised yesterday because if we didn't you’d be even more lost. Thanks, though, I tried to look pretty for you.” Ouma smiled sweetly and winked at him-  _ he has to be lying.  _ Shuichi stumbled over his words, trying to think of a way to respond. “Also, yes, it's the same one. Glad you noticed it, though, I don't expect anything less from you.”

“Ah...well, the car is over there Ouma-kun, could you please give me the address of the fair?” The octopus-haired man looked slightly annoyed at the response but shrugged it off and followed Shuichi to the car- he could feel the air around them turning awkward but he didn't know what to do to fix it.

Once they were inside Ouma pulled out his phone from the pocket of his jacket and placed the GPS saying something along the lines of “Supreme leaders don't have the time to remember such pointless information” and “the GPS is basically another subordinate if you think about it.”- which, no, it isn't.

A bit of Idle chatter filled the car for the rest of the ride, it wasn't very far (only about twenty-five minutes away) so when they inevitably ran out of topics of conversation, silence fell upon them.

It wasn't as bad as Shuichi had expected it to be.

***

Shuichi’s first thought when he arrived was:  _ There’s a lot of people here.  _ Then it went to:  _ Maybe I shouldn't have come.  _ But in the end, his train of thought was cut by Ouma, who dragged him to a small booth where someone was selling the tickets. After paying for them- the reason he did so was because Ouma insisted that if this was a date then Shuichi had to pay for them both- the couple finally got inside and the detective watched Ouma’s face light up.

Several different attractions surrounded them, numerous typical games seen in every movie (shooting at targets or throwing a small plastic ring towards a set of poles to try and get a price) yet the one that stood out the most was the Ferris wheel. A gigantic round mass full of carts, decorated with bright lights that were drowned by the sunlight.

“Let's go to the games first! Then we can eat something but I really want you to win me a plushie.” Ouma said, breaking Shuichi out of his thoughts. The detective stared at him-  _ is there something else he wants me to do? I mean, first I had to pay, which actually makes some sense since we are supposed to be on a date, and now I have to win a prize for him? _

“Sure, I don't mind. But can’t you win a prize for yourself, Oum-Kichi?” Shuichi caught himself in time and switched to the pet name he was meant to use in public. “I'm not good at those things so I doubt I would be able to win anything for you.” Ouma blew a raspberry at him and held his hand.

“Have a bit more confidence in yourself, Shu! I'm sure it’ll be fine and if it doesn't then at least I’ll get a good laugh from it. Nishishi.” The small man told him as they approached one of the booths. The game appeared simple enough, you were given three darts and had to use them to break three balloons if you failed once then you failed the entire game. “Hi! One game please.” Ouma said and gave the employee one of his tickets.

“Of course, are you trying to win your boyfriend anything?” She smirked at him and raised an eyebrow as she handed them the darts- Shuichi noted that she had an accent, probably a foreign.

“Actually, he's going to get  _ me _ something, right Shushu?” Ouma leaned on the detective's arm and smiled up at him. Shuichi froze, all the attention was suddenly on him and he was certain that he wouldn't be able to win anything for Ouma- his aim was awful and he just knew that it wasn't possible and-

“Y-Yeah, I'll try my best, Kichi. I'm not very good at it, though.” His words came out of his mouth without thinking and he grabbed the three darts with a small “thank you.” he breathed in and out and threw the first one-

_ Pop! _

One of the balloons broke upon impact and it's remains stayed tied up to the small pole that kept each balloon still. Ouma cheered and gave a small clap. Shuichi prepared himself from the next shot- he thought of Maki, how she had taught both Kaito and him how to throw darts correctly that one time. And then he threw the second one-

_ Pop! _

Another balloon fell. The employee gave Ouma a look from where she stood and the man nodded- Shuichi felt like he could grasp what that exchange was about but didn't want to lose his concentration on the game. One last breath and he there the third dart, it went slightly lower than the other ones but perhaps it could still-

_ Pop! _

The woman clapped at him and pointed at the prices. “Didn't take you for the lying type, you're actually quite good at it. So, what are you gonna get him?” Shuichi looked at the plushies once and already had an answer. He pointed towards it and, with a small smile, she handed it to him. “This one’s a keeper.” The detective heard her whisper go Ouma.

“Aw, Shu! Thank you so much!” The octopus-haired man grabbed the prize that Shuichi held up to him and hugged it immediately- Shuichi was glad that it wasn't a living thing because if it were then it would have suffocated.

“I’m glad you liked it, Kichi. It reminded me of you.” The detective rubbed the back of his neck. The prize was a purple octopus plushie- of course, it reminded him of Ouma- as soon as Shuichi had seen it he knew that it was the right one.

“He's our new son nos! And I'm gonna name him….DJ Octavio! Or just Octavio for short.” Ouma exclaimed, causing the girl at the booth to laugh. “Thank you so much, babe,” the small man came closer to Shuichi and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“You're welcome, Kichi.” The detective answered and looked away- he could feel the employee’s looking at them.

“Now come on, there are a lot more games to play!” Ouma grabbed Shuichi’s hand again and started dragging him to the next booth after exchanging quick goodbyes with the woman. “I want to try that one.” He told the detective and pointed at a game where a couple of children were seated. You were supposed to aim a water gun to a target and fill the tank with water before the rest of the people- for some reason, it didn't strike as odd to Shuichi that Ouma wanted to play a game so obviously targeted towards kids. They approached the booth and the octopus-haired man handed his “new son” over to the detective so he could play.

It was at that moment Shuichi realized just how competitive Ouma was. 

The man sat down on one of the last free seats, right on the edge, next to him sat a small blonde child with her hair in two ponytails. As soon as the game started Ouma was already shooting, he seemed like an expert at this with the precision he had, never missing the centre of the target. It didn't take long for Ouma to win, being announced by the sound of a bell. He stood up and grabbed the prize that the employee offered with a grin, sticking his tongue out at the blonde child who was now frowning. The girl’s eyes were glossy and she was taken back by the octopus-haired man’s behaviour.

“Kichi” Shuichi hissed, “she's just a child, don't do that to her.” Ouma pouted at him. “Come on, give me the stuffed animal. If she starts crying her parents are going to get here and they are going to be very mad at us and I would like to avoid that.” The detective grabbed the toy from Ouma’s hands and walked up to the girl- he actively ignored the other man’s protests. “H-Here I'm so sorry about my...boyfriend’s behaviour he can be  _ really  _ childish sometimes if you ask me you won he probably cheated anyways. I'm sorry.” The girl stared at Shuichi with big eyes and hugged the plushie close.

“T-Thank you, Mister. Um..are you the man from tv that my mommy watches? The detective?” She rubbed her red eyes- Shuichi normally felt uncomfortable when someone mentioned him but this girl didn't make him feel that way, maybe it was the fact that she was so young or that she had been crying a couple of seconds before, but she simply didn't.

“Yes, I am.” She looked up from her prize and stared at him “Well, I hope you feel better now, bye.” He said and stood up, the girl did so as well, but instead of walking away, she tugged at his pants.

“Saihara-san, please tell your boyfriend that he is a dumb-dumb for me, please! Bye.” The girl said quickly before she ran off, Shuichi could see how she had run-up to a woman with white hair and a short blonde man and proudly waving the small stuffed animal in front of them.

The detective couldn't help but giggle a little at the child- it definitely reminded him of Ouma. Speaking of the devil, the octopus-haired man stood beside Shuichi, a pout still appeared on his face. “Shu is so mean to mean! I'm going to break-up with you if you keep being such a mean boyfriend!” He puffed out his cheeks and made a small ”hmph” noise.

Shuichi turned towards him. “Sorry about that, Kichi. But I couldn't leave her like that, I hope you aren't too mad about it. We..we still have to finish our date..right?” He saw the other man perk-up slightly at that. “I mean, only if you want to go, of course. There are a couple of games left and you said yesterday that there was going to be a surprise afterwards so...yeah.” The detective finished his rambling and looked at Ouma again- he really needed to stop randomly looking downwards when speaking to him.

The octopus-haired man muttered something that Shuichi couldn't quite catch (something along the lines of “stupid detective, I get that you're kind you don't have to show off how great you are.”) and then seemed to consider it for a few seconds before he spoke- it was obvious that he was making a show of choosing whether to stay or not. “Fine, only if we go to that one next. If we don't then I'm leaving.” Ouma grinned mischievously- which Shuichi knew, was  _ never  _ a good sign (another one of the things you can pick up on rather quickly when you meet the purple ball of energy.) The detective’s gaze followed Ouma’s fingers and his first thought was very simple:

_ Oh no. _

***

Oh no, indeed. The ride had left Shuichi dizzy and his hands hurt due to how tight he was holding onto his seat. No wonder Ouma had chosen it, the ride consisted of a circle of seats all of them looking outwards, you were thrown up and down at incredible speed and were sometimes left on the top part of the ride for a second or two too long just so you could see how far you were from the ground.

Shuichi wasn't one to scream on games of this sort and he certainly didn't this time, but he was pretty close to doing so. Ouma, on the other hand, giggled throughout the whole thing- and Shuichi pretended as if he hadn't seen how hard the man was holding onto the seat as well.

“That was super fun, Shushu! Did you get scared~? You know you could have held my hand if you wanted to.” Ouma said as they walked away from the game and interlocked their fingers as if it proved his point. “Come on, there's one more ride I want to go to.” Excitedly, the octopus-haired man pulled Shuichi towards the Ferris wheel-  _ maybe the practice we did yesterday was some sort of foreshadowing, I wouldn't really say I'm surprised if it was. _

“K-Kichi, calm down, there's barely a line anyway.” The detective complained, but Ouma didn't seem to hear him- or most likely: actively ignored him- and continued to drag Shuichi to the small line in front of the attraction. Shuichi pulled out his phone to check the time:  _ 8:45- has it really been that long? I..didn't notice. I need to get home soon so I can finish working on- _

“Hey! Hey, Shu. Saihara-chan, Shushu, mister Detective!” Ouma’s yelling broke Shuichi out of his thoughts- this was no place to think about work anyway. “Am I such a boring date, Shu? Huh, huh? You keep spacing out and it makes me think that I'm doing something wrong..”

“No, no! You're not doing anything wrong, Kichi, I'm just thinking about..work. Sorry. You are a really interesting person to be around actually and I've enjoyed the...date so far.” Shuichi smiled at the man beside him. Ouma opened his mouth to respond but was cut by the employee calling for the next person in line.

The couple stepped inside of the cart and as soon as the employee shut the door the ride started moving, not only did it sway in the typical circular manner that they were able to see from the outside, but the cart itself had a soothing back and forth motion- Shuichi had never been to a Ferris wheel before, despite going on a couple of dates with his previous girlfriends he had never taken them anywhere like this (mainly because the opportunity didn't present itself.)

“Did you know, this is my favourite attraction, Shu? It's  _ so  _ romantic and  _ totally  _ not an overused cliché in every type of media.” Ouma commented as he rocked his feet back and forth in the seat across from Shuichi. “I mean, it's not like I've seen thousands of movies where it appears or anything like that.”

_He's_ _the one that wanted to come here, why is he complaining? Was it a lie?_ Shuichi opened his mouth to answer but before he could get a sound out Ouma continued talking.

_ “ _ It's also generally when the main couple  _ kisses _ .”

Shuichi could feel his face heat up at the implication-  _ does he want to kiss?! We barely know each other and although I had a nice time today I wouldn't kiss him! Oh fuck, is he going to ask? What do I do if he  _ **_does_ ** _ ask it?! I can't reject him because it would be too awkward for the rest of the ride and I don't think I would be able to deal with that but on the other hand, I don't want to kiss someone who is practically a stranger! _

The man in front of him started laughing at his reaction (for a moment a thought flashed through Shuichi’s mind that the other man had a nice laugh when he wasn't faking it, that is.) “You should have seen your face, Saihara-chan!” He said between laughter and the detective’s face seemed to grow hotter due to the embarrassment (he also noted how Ouma had switched over to the  _ Saihara-chan  _ now that they were alone.) “Are you disappointed that I don't want to kiss you, perhaps, Saihara-chan~?” Ouma’s smile grew into a smirk.

“No, it has nothing to do with that! I-I just thought that you were going to ask if we could kiss and that was one of the first things that we stated was off-limits.” The detective ran a hand through his hair as he explained. “I'm sorry.”

“Geez, you apologize too much, Saihara-chan. What are you even apologizing for? You didn't do anything.” Ouma huffed- in all honesty, Shuichi wasn't sure why he apologized, it was just a habit he had picked up throughout his life: if you apologized enough then people were less likely to get angry at you. The octopus-haired man looked to his side and his eyes widened slightly.

Shuichi followed his gaze and was met with a gorgeous view. During their chat, the pair had gotten to the top of the Ferris wheel and we're now staring down into a sea of soft yellow, purple and blue lights that were reflected on the water nearby. The detective let his gaze travel to Ouma for a second (he would never admit how the childish man actually looked pretty illuminated by the lights.)

A delicate type of silence hung in the air, the type that wasn't comforting and welcoming nor awkward, that you could break with the smallest movement. Eventually, Shuichi turned back to the view and tried to push Ouma out of his mind- which was surprisingly hard considering he was right in front of him.

“Beautiful isn't it, Saihara-chan? And you haven't even seen the best part yet.” Ouma’s voice seemed to come from far away, Shuichi was far too entranced by the site to pay mind to the rest. It brought a sort of peace he hadn't felt in a while. Yet, it was soon broken (like peace always is) by the loud crackling of the fireworks that suddenly shot up into the air. “There it is!” The octopus-haired man exclaimed and he turned his attention back to the sky.

Soon enough, the ride was moving again, it's soft motion calming after the day of running around that Shuichi had had. “Thank you, Ouma-kun, the view was beautiful.” (it was far too late when the detective noticed that this resembled the scene they practised too much.)

“Is that the only beautiful thing?” Ouma asked with a smirk. They made eye contact and Shuichi became aware of the game the other was playing but didn't dare to continue it, his brain panicking far too much. 

“Uh..” He starts, but it falls flat, the words not daring to come out of his throat. “The lights were as well..” He tried. The silence after that dragged for too much time, as both men stared at each other, one expecting something else in return of what he said (fake, obviously fake, like everything else they said) and the other one debating whether he should press further with his answer.

Ouma frowned, he was starting to get annoyed at Shuichi’s response. He grabbed one of his purple locks and played with it between his fingers, waiting (he was no longer sure if waiting was the right thing to do, the detective didn't seem willing to give him the answer he wanted.) The air was heavy on the cart, drowning Shuichi’s lungs in uncomfortableness.

The ride stopped before Shuichi opened his mouth again and he internally cursed himself for freezing up like that. Ouma shot him one last look before he went back into the loving boyfriend persona and sat up, walking out of the cart (the detective tried not to take notice of how the other man didn't take his hand before leaving, he had just panicked! Couldn't Ouma be a little bit merciful?) Shuichi sat up as well and walked out, quickly catching up to Ouma.

“Well, that was fun, Shu! You should take me out more often.” He said as they arrived at the exit to the fair. “But next time you have to choo-” They both turned their heads at the sound of a sudden gasp, cutting Ouma mid-sentence. There stood a girl that seemed around their age, with (mostly) black hair (she had the front part died of two different colours.) Holding her hand was another girl who looked extremely nervous after meeting their gaze.

“Are you Saihara Shuichi?!” The girl approached them and asked- her voice was fairly loud and Shuichi became hyper-aware of the strangers that turned their head towards them.

“Y-Yes, I am.” He said, his voice fluttered slightly- he was never the best at greeting fans, specifically not the more...excited type.

“Yahoo! Ibuki is so happy right now, I've wanted to meet you for a while!” The girl- Ibuki told him (in a sentence that had too many exclamations points.) The nervous-looking girl from earlier appeared beside Ibuki- Shuichi noticed how she was trembling despite it merely being a normal conversation (would that be the right way to describe it? It was normal for Shuichi after all.) “Oh! Ibuki forgot to introduce herself! I'm “Mio” “Da” “I” “Buki”, put it all together and what do you get? Mioda Ibuki! And this is my incredible girlfriend Tsumiki Mikan! She's super cute isn't she?!”

Shuichi stared at her for a second, Mioda was.. _ a lot _ . It was even worse than when he met Ouma- yes, meeting the man was exhausting but he was nowhere near Mioda’s level of intensity, at least from the little interaction he got with her.

“Nice to meet you Mioda-chan, I'm Ouma Kokichi.” Ouma greeted and wrapped his arm around Shuichi’s. “It's nice meeting you too Tsumiki-chan.” Said girl jumped a little as the attention fell upon her-  _ I think her anxiety is worse than mind.  _ “Cat got your tongue? Don't worry, I promise we don't bite.” He smiled at her-  _ he seems a lot kinder than when he met m-  _ “or maybe that's a lie..nishishi”-  _ I take it back. _

“P-Please d-don't bite m-me!” Tsumiki exclaimed and held onto her girlfriend’s arm-  _ that's weird, has someone hurt her in the past?  _ “I-I’ll l-leave j-just please d-don't!” Mioda wrapped an arm around her waist, trying to comfort her.

“Don't worry Mikan nobody can hurt you while I'm here! I'll stomp on their face if they try!” The shorter girl said softly- Shuichi smiled at the scene, it was endearing how Mioda switched from her usual loud tone to a softer one just to comfort her girlfriend. Mioda kissed Tsumiki’s cheek before returning her attention to them (her arm still around the girl’s waist.) “Right! I was going to ask what Saihara-san is doing here!”-  _ oh boy, here we go. _

“A-Actually I'm here with my- my boyfriend. Kokichi is my boyfriend.” He sputtered the last part out, it was so weird calling him that- not only because he had never called anyone his boyfriend but also because it was..well, Ouma. “We came here for our date, I assume you did the same?” Shuichi glanced at Ouma and was met with big eyes looking up at him, he quickly looked back at Mioda.

“Ibuki is so sorry! She didn't know that Saihara-san was on a date! Ibuki will leave you alone now, but can I take a picture with Saihara-san first?” Shuichi nodded and Ouma let go of his arm to move so Mioda could get closer. She pulled out her phone and held it up to take a picture (the pose she made for the photo fitted her pretty well in Shuichi’s opinion.) “Thanks! I hope I see you again Saihara-san! Have fun on the rest of your date!” She yelled and grabbed Tsumiki’s hand, who looked a lot more relaxed now that Mioda was doing so.

“Looks like you aren't that bad after all, Shu. Well, time for you to take me back home, come on I'm hungry.” Ouma complained and pulled at Shuichi’s hand, dragging the detective towards the exit. Once Shuichi could walk normally again, Ouma continued talking. “You never told me if you liked the surprise Shushu! Aren't fireworks fun? I thought that a boring detective like you would find them interesting.”

“Yeah, I don't like the noise that much but they were pretty.” The detective told him as Ouma waves at the employee from the darts stand, she waved back and winked at him to which Ouma rolled his eyes (they seemed to be having a non-verbal conversation and watching them made Shuichi feel as if he was interfering in something.) “Where did you learn about this place?” He asked.

The octopus-haired man snapped his attention back to the detective. “Oh, ya know, my dealer told me that this is where he buys everything.” Ouma looked at his nails and answered, Shuichi sighed-  _ I should have seen that coming.  _ “Aw man, your reactions used to be so funny, what happened? Fine, I'll tell you. A friend of mine works there and she told me about it. Happy?” He looked like a child that was caught stealing from their friend and was forced to give the toy back.

“Yes, thank you Ouma-kun.” (he had instinctively fallen back to the honorifics now that they were in the parking lot, there weren't a lot of people there so they had nothing to worry about.) Shuichi opened the car once they got there and climbed in, Ouma doing the same. “I had fun today, Ouma-kun, this was a good idea.” The detective commented as the car started up.

The other man looked at him for a second with a blank expression before it broke into a grin. “Of course it was great, I came up with it. You're welcome Saihara-chan and we're actually pretty lucky that we met up with Mioda-chan and Tsumiki-chan since they might spread it or something..” Shuichi watched as Ouma opened the glove box and looked for something inside of it.

“Thank you Ouma-kun...but what are you looking for?” The detective starts driving as the other rummages through his belongings (the ponytail he had been wearing throughout the “date” had been long forgotten and the octopus-like hair bounced up and down, never losing its gravity-defying quality.

“Car snacks, duh. Geez, Saihara-chan, how can you not have any? No bag of chips or cookies? How do you live like this, Mister detective?” With a huff, Ouma fell back into his seat and closed the glove box. “What? I already told you I was hungry!” The man could certainly act like a child when he wanted to.

“I just didn't know that car snacks were a thing..? I don't usually eat inside of my car to avoid getting it dirty if you want we can order something in a drive-through.” He offered and Ouma seemed to light up at the comment- well “light up” as in he had an evil grin in his face which meant that he was most definitely going to take the offer. 

And he did.

The man nodded and started giving Shuichi instruction to a place that he knew nearby which had in his opinion “some of the best food I've ever tried. This one time I poisoned one of my enemies with it and he didn't even taste the poison over the flavour of the food! What a dumbass!” The murdering someone part was disturbing, yes, but Shuichi knew it was a lie. So that was how they ended up having dinner inside of the detective’s car that night.

_ Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading :)  
> Now, the explanation I was going to give:  
> The reason why this took so long was basically writer block, I found it difficult to write for long periods of time due to my low motivation, but I’ll try my best to write the next chapter as soon as possible.  
>  ~~(Also the Dream Team has been taken over my life send help.)~~  
>  Due to personal reason, though, the chapters that are supposed to come out during the next months might be delayed a little. I’m sorry. 
> 
> Thank you for reading if you did and if you didn’t thank you for reading my story anyway.  
> Just to clarify: this story ISN’T GOING IN HIATUS, I’m going to continue working on it and plan on finishing it.
> 
> Have a good day/night everyone and stay hydrated~!

**Author's Note:**

> I’ll see you on the next chapter! And if you have any questions/ criticism or anything don’t be scared to write it in the comments, they always make me smile :)
> 
> Have a great day/night~!


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